


Carousel

by Mazauric



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, M/M, Post-Persona 5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2018-11-23 20:16:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 179,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11409435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazauric/pseuds/Mazauric
Summary: Post-Persona 5.Recovering from the events of his year in Tokyo, Akira returns to his hometown with a semi-clean slate. But fate always has other plans for him which is how he ends up in another interrogation room, needle on the floor, prosecutor staring him down and a dim recollection of how he got there.But it's different this time.This time, he really had nothing to do with it. This time, Akechi Goro is on his side.





	1. Shinsou Academy

**4/15 - Friday**

He feels like shit.

The first thing Akira sees when he opens his heavy eyes is a steel table and dark surroundings. It's a hauntingly familiar landscape and for a moment, the strongest feeling of deja-vu hits him. Especially when he notices the used needle tossed on the floor, not too far from where he sits.

He brings his hands up to his face and eyes the handcuffs around his wrists.

This again.

He can't remember how he got here. Not in detail anyway. The whole thing is pretty blurry, there might have been some screaming, some busted doors, it all happened pretty fast. What matters is the here and now and right now, he's pretty fucked. It's not like this is part of a greater plan where his friends save him, he's fucked. 

There is no backup plan. No genius in the background. No Phantom Thieves.

All of this was executed - flawlessly - by someone he doesn't know and it's the anonymity that puts him in real danger. That someone has it out for him bad enough that he'd end up here again.

"Talk," a female voice demands and Akira looks up.

She's nothing like Nijima Sae but she's just as demanding and clueless about the real problem. The problem being that this time they've actually got the wrong guy. For once, Akira's hands are clean of this particular fuckup.

The woman before him is shorter than Sae was. Her hair is dark and tied back in a bun so tight it actually pulls her eyebrows up a little. Her clothes are dark, formal, standard, nothing special about them except the tiny blue butterfly brooch that sticks out on the left side of her collar.

Akira guesses that the brooch wasn't part of the uniform.

Her hand slams on the table, making it shake and Akira's eyes flick to hers. She's angry, he can read her pretty well but he can't tell her anything she wants to know. He doesn't know anything.

She sighs and sits down. She opens the folder in front of herself and turns it to show Akira a picture of a man with balding grey hair and an almost permanent hunch. As if he's been working hunched over a computer for too long. His body looks too thin and doesn't fit the suit he wears and Akira knows him.

He's the principal of his current school. His new school.

"Tell me what you know," the woman demands "The day you return to school is the very day this happens. I don't believe in coincidences, only connections."

Akira shakes his head. His fingers twitch and he moves the cuffs around just a little but he's as stuck as he was before.

His wordless answer only enrages her more and she slams the table again "Talk!" she demands "This is no coincidence! With your record, no school in the country should have taken you. You were lucky there remained one school that did. But on the very day you returned to school, this happened. It _had_ to be connected to you!"

That sounded strangely familiar. All of this does. Only this time Akira isn't suffering from some strange memory loss, he remembers quite clearly how he got here and why he's in this chair now. He remembers the looks on his parents faces when he came home from Tokyo. The night of celebration he had with his friends before they had to leave.

He remembers Futaba clinging to his leg as Makoto had to drag her off. Ann's tearful face as she said goodbye, Yusuke saying something deep and philosophical to hide how much he'd really miss him. There was Haru's kind smile and one last hug before they got on the road again and out of his life.

...for about two days before Ryuji came back and declared he'd transferred and moved to Akira's town because _"_ _Shujin Academy sucks ass, my only friends are girls and Yusuke might as well be a girl too. Plus my ma likes it here more, it's quieter."_

It was the false accusation last year that had gotten him expelled from his last school but the consequences of it were lingering still even as he returned with a clean slate. His parents had found a school and Ryuji had promptly followed suit, enrolling on the very same day. Things were looking up. New school, clean(ish) slate and a friend to go through it all with him. Though Morgana was quite vocal about having to put up with Ryuji again, Akira had a feeling the cat was happy about it too.

Then came the day. The very first day of school.

_"Dude this place may not be like Tokyo but the ramen!" Ryuji exclaims as they walk together to school._

_In a quieter town like the one Akira lives in, it isn't like Tokyo where he was mashed into the train every morning. In fact he barely needs to take the train, it's a twenty minute walk at best to school and Ryuji had loudly proclaimed he could run that in five._

_Akira feels Morgana's weight in his backpack, a twitch of a smile plays on his lips as he watches Ryuji's eyes get wide - the way they do when he's excited about something._

_"Fuck man, I've never tasted ramen like that," Ryuji goes on "Next time the gang come back down, we're taking them there."_

_Akira's bag shuffles a bit as Morgana pokes his head out "You really think they're gonna come back down here?" he asks sceptically "Lady Ann might not even like ramen! She's into cakes and desserts and things like that high class place we were in last time."_

_Ryuji wrinkles his nose "That place was full of snobby, rich assholes who looked at us like we'd spent the whole time shitting on their couches. Fuck places like that."_

_Morgana hums in thought and relents "True," he says "But at least the food was good."_

_Ryuji notices other students wearing their uniform and reaches over to stuff Morgana's head in Akira's bag again._

_"Yo get down," he scolds as he zips the bag up "And don't come out until it's safe."_

_Morgana protests, loudly, but it's muffled from the zip and Ryuji grins at Akira._

_"New school, new teachers," he says enthusiastically "New track team."_

_"Will you be alright?" Akira asks with a nod to Ryuji's leg._

_Ryuji shrugs "There's no Kamoshida here and all I can do is give it my all. Besides, I ran from a sinking ship and onto a rail, I think I can handle a high school track team."_

_The memory makes Akira smile, just a little and he watches Ryuji. The boy is an open creature, he's blunt, honest and to the point but he hides a lot of his pain behind bravado and loud gestures. Akira learnt fairly quickly that Ryuji's most honest emotions were in his eyes._

_Not that he needed to look there, Ryuji trusted Akira enough to let him know almost everything that went on in his head. Especially the things he never told anyone else._

_"What about...?" Akira stops. It had bothered him that he was going to live in a different city and go to a different school than his friends but Ryuji had transferred so quickly, he hadn't thought about what the other must have been thinking._

_Ryuji smirks knowingly "Ann?" he cocks his head and shrugs "She'll be fine. She's got Haru and Makoto...and Yusuke. Dude, I wasn't gonna leave you alone. Besides, there's not much chance of my deadbeat father finding us here. It's better here. For both me and my ma."_

_Ryuji's hand finds Akira's shoulder and the grin on his face reaches his eyes. That's how Akira knows he's truly okay._

_"_ _Good," Ryuji says with an over exaggerated stretch "Now that that's out of the way we can..." he stops mid-stretch and Akira looks over to see a girl, paused in the footpath with her phone in her hand but her eyes on the both of them._

_"Suzui?" Ryuji's eyes widen._

_Suzui Shiho looks surprised and a lot better than the last time Akira had seen her. She still has her hair in a ponytail, brace on her leg but somehow she seems...stronger. Less like she's going to be knocked over by the wind._

_"Sakamoto-kun?" Shiho asks and turns her eyes to Akira "Kurusu-kun? What are you two doing here?"_

_"I could ask the same," Ryuji points out "Clearly we're all going to the same school again. You transferred, right?"_

_Shiho nods and turns her dark eyes onto Akira. She nods a little in silent greeting and Akira follows to do the same. He'd been there after all, he'd witnessed her saying farewell to Ann, she'd still been recovering then but now she seems somehow stronger. Wiser. Not as downtrodden as she had been last year._

_"How is Ann?" she asks as the three of them walk to school. Shiho falls into step beside Ryuji and Akira as easily as Ann had. But not with Ann's confidence._

_"Haven't you been keeping in touch?" Ryuji asks, his hands jammed into his pockets again._

_"We have but you must have seen her more recently," Shiho points out quietly "Is she...okay?"_

_"She misses me," Ryuji brags "But she's fine dude, she's got her friends over there and she's doing what she wants. As usual."_

_A fond smile lights up Shiho's expression and she nods in approval "That does sound like her. I don't expect anything less."_

_"Neither does she," Ryuji mutters._

_They pass through the school gates and Akira feels the cool breeze of anonymity. When he first came to Shujin, everyone knew who he was thanks to Mishima. There were rumours, people whispering in really loud voices around him and whilst this didn't outwardly bother him, it had been something he'd noticed._

_Here, nobody seems to care and it's actually refreshing._

_He watches the students walking towards the school, talking to each other about mundane things that actually aren't exaggerated stories of his criminal deeds and it's so blissfully normal it might actually become boring when the novelty wears off._

_"Oh yeah," Shiho looks up as they walk into the hallways "There's an assembly this morning. The principal had an announcement."_

_"Another assembly?" Ryuji complains "Dude, those never end well."_

_Akira shrugs "Kamoshida's ended well," he reminds him quietly and doesn't miss the way Shiho shivers at the mention of Kamoshida's name._

_Stronger, wiser, but the scars are still there._

_"We gotta go to the faculty office anyway," Ryuji points out as he rubs his hair about to disguise nerves "Hopefully this time they put us in the same class."_

_Akira follows the two of them and Shiho parts from them on the second floor._

_"It's just down there," she says, pointing down the hallway "Third door to the right."_

_With a small bow, she turns on her heel and heads off to her class. Ryuji pauses for a moment to watch her leave and when she's gone, he turns back to Akira._

_"What were the odds, of all the schools in Japan, we'd end up in the same one as her again?"_

_"Small," Akira comments dryly and nods to the faculty office "Let's go."_

_There's a rush of nostalgia and familiarity as Akira opens the door to the faculty office and finds the teacher he's supposed to be seeing. The woman is no Kawakami but she bears a slight similarity in that Akira can very easily imagine her in a maid outfit._

_Her name is Kojima and when she stands up, she's still shorter than both Ryuji and Akira. Her hair is jet black, straight and silky, her eyes are huge and dark and Akira can actually hear Ryuji's breathing quicken when he realises her body is nothing to scoff at either. Even under the teacher clothes._

_"_ __Sakamoto Ryuji and Kurusu Akira," Kojima sighs as she takes out their files and looks over them. Her dark eyes assess them both "You're both in my class."__

_"Yesss ..." Ryuji hisses to himself._

_"Given your record," Kojima continues, her eyes on Akira "Just know, the entire school will be keeping a very close eye on you. One toe out of line and you're out."_

_"Dude he was innocent!" Ryuji argues right away - apparently no longer smitten with her body or looks as long as she threatens his friend "They even proved that!"_

_"Regardless, we have no tolerance for troublemakers," Kojima's tone gets harder and so do her eyes "Do I make myself clear?"_

_Ryuji glares and he looks like he's about to say something else when Akira shoots him a look. Not here. Not now. It's not worth it._

_Ryuji deflates immediately and scowls at the floor instead "Fine," he mutters._

_Akira nods and Kojima's expression switches from hard to pleased right away._

_"Good," she beams "For your own sake, it would be better to keep that to yourself as well. We don't want to disturb the other students."_

_Now Akira definitely feels a wave of deja-vu._

_She leads them out of the faculty office just as the bells indicate the first period. Kojima's shoes click slightly on the floor as she leads them towards their classroom._

_"There's an assembly on first thing," she explains "The principal has an announcement and your attendance is mandatory. After that however, class will begin."_

_Ryuji and Akira exchange glances, following her as she opens the sliding door and lets them into a classroom that quietens as she comes in._

_"Right, let's do this fast because there's assembly," Kojima announces "We have two new students with us here and we don't have time for introductions. Kurusu-kun," she turns to Akira and points at the seat near the window "You'll take that desk and Sakamoto-kun, you're over there."_

_She points to the back, somewhere near the middle. Akira spots Shiho smiling from where she sits two rows ahead of him. He can see relief in her eyes._

_"Right," Kojima announces "To the assembly hall and be quick about it."_

_Akira and Ryuji drop their bags at their desks and follow the rest of the class as they murmur amongst each other and file out of the classroom. As they walk, Ryuji huffs._

_"It's bullshit that you still have a record," he grumbles "You turned yourself in to get the charge to stick to Shido and it was through that, that Nijima Sae proved your innocence. How do you still have a record after that??"_

_"Don't mind it," Akira shrugs, noticing his bag wriggling under his desk as he leaves the classroom. He wonders if Morgana can breathe in there._

_They file into the assembly hall and stand in lines as usual. Ryuji stands in front of Akira, the two of them looking around and watching as the teachers file onto the stage, followed by a man in a brown suit they can only assume is the principal._

_He's so thin. He looks like the slightest wind would knock him down flat and the suit is at least three sizes larger than he actually is. Akira eyes his balding spots of grey hair, the bags under his eyes and the slow pace he walks as he makes his way across the stage._

_"I know someone who needs a nap," Ryuji mutters to him quietly._

_"Good morning, Shinsou Academy," he croaks into the microphone "As you are aware, a series of events have caused this assembly to become a necessity. Recent events have hit our student body hard and it is our job as teachers to reassure your safety and protection."_

_For once, Akira is completely out of the loop. He frowns and sees Ryuji just as confused. The both of them look at Shiho, who is still and listening intently. She knows what he's talking about._

_"A...seasoned principal would assure you that your safety is guaranteed within these walls but I can't say the same," the man continues tiredly "It would be a lie. The events of the last two weeks in particular have made it clear that the student body, the faculty and even the board of this school are at high risk and I would ask that everyone exercise caution."_

_"Dude what the fuck is going on here?" Ryuji asks, face full of concern as he notices everyone else in the hall is tense and hanging on the principal's words all of a sudden._

_"Police are working on discovering the root source of the disturbances but in the meantime..." the principal says and out of the corner of his eye, Akira sees someone walking up onto the stage. The figure is dressed in black, his head completely covered with a balaclava, eyes peeking out just barely through holes and hands covered in gloves._

_The figure walks up onto the stage so fast, so purposefully that no one has a chance to stop him._

_The rest of the student body and the teachers notice him a beat after Akira does and nobody has any time to do anything as the figure draws out a gun, points it at the principal and shoots him point blank in the head._

Back in the interrogation room, Akira shakes his head. He'd been in that school a grand total of thirty minutes and that happened. What happened afterwards was fairly fast as well, it might as well be a blur for all his memory recollects. He can see the woman across the table from him is impatient, angry and determined to get answers out of him but he doesn't know what to tell her.

He had nothing to do with this.

_Screaming, running, Akira is nearly knocked off his feet and has just enough time to grab Ryuji before the blonde takes him away from the middle of the assembly. Over his shoulder, he sees the figure walking calmly off the stage again and nobody stops him. Nobody wants to go near him whilst he has a gun in his hand, even the teachers and staff make a run for it._

_"Suzui!" Ryuji screams amidst the chaos. He's got a hand on Akira's shoulder and it's so tight that he's never letting go. Akira is stunned, he's in shock but he watches the figure walking out of the hall as silently as he'd walked in._

_Everyone's running for the doors but Akira spots Shiho, stunned and still standing where she'd been before. Ryuji takes him back to her and grabs her as well before making a run for the doors._

_"Ryuji," Akira says and although his feet are running with them, he wants to go after the shooter. He grabs Ryuji's_ _arm and tries to get him to stop "Ryuji we have to-"_

_"Fuck that, we have to get out of here!" Ryuji shouts and drags both of them out of the assembly hall, through the crowded hallways and out through the entrance doors._

_They stop running when they're at least two blocks away from the school. Ryuji lets them go and leans against a vending machine, he rests his hands on his knees and pants at the ground as Akira stares down the road they'd just been running down. Shiho's in shock, she's shaking and staring at the ground and all Akira can think is that he has to go after the shooter. Someone has to stop him, someone has to._

_"What...the fuck was that?" Ryuji asks, still panting hard from adrenaline and sudden exertion. He turns to look at Shiho "Do you have any idea what that was?!"_

_Shiho can't answer, her eyes are wide and she's shaking so hard it's a miracle she's still on her feet._

_"She's in shock," Akira explains, his eyes still staring down the street. He picks himself up again and dusts his legs down "Look after her."_

_"Wait, where are you going?!" Ryuji squeaks in alarm "You better not-"_

_"Morgana," Akira says and takes off down the road he'd just come from. He hears Ryuji calling after him but it's like he's in water. The blood is rushing past his ears, shock and adrenaline at the same time and he can't hear anything. Can't feel anything but an overwhelming need to get his bag out of his homeroom class._

_The school is empty when he returns. Akira sprints through the open doors and through the hallways he'd just come through. His legs take the stairs two at a time and his shoes squeak on the floors as he bursts into his empty homeroom class and runs for his bag._

_When he gets there, two things happen at the same time. The first is he opens his bag and finds Morgana gone. The second is the doors burst open, there's shouting, armed police, someone grabs him, puts his hands behind his back and slams his head into the desk._

"You were the only one in the school," the woman tells him fiercely "The only student in the entire building, what kind of student runs back into the school after a shooting!?"

"I wanted my bag," Akira explains calmly.

The woman doesn't buy that for a second, she stares at him incredulously "There's a shooting, a man is shot in front of the entire student body and you go back into the building for your bag?! Do you really expect me to believe that?!"

Akira wonders if telling her there was a cat in his bag would make her believe him. Probably not. She seems determined to have someone answer for this. Anyone.

"I was in the assembly when it happened," he says instead "There are others who can say I was there."

"That doesn't mean you weren't associated with the shooter," she insists "With your background-"

"Of which I was proven innocent," Akira cuts in firmly.

She bristles "Still. Your ties to the Phantom Thieves in Tokyo cannot be ignored. Especially given what's happening."

Akira can't say anything. He doesn't know what is going on. He doesn't know what the principal had been talking about before someone came and shot him in front of the entire school. For once, he's totally and completely out of his area here and it feels a lot like the first time he went into Kamoshida's castle without yet realising where he was.

The woman is about to say more when another officer opens the door and looks at her.

"There's someone here to talk to you, detective," he says in a short, curt tone "He says it's important."

The woman stares at Akira for a few moments more before she gets up and leaves the room without another word. The officer glances at Akira and closes the door, leaving the boy alone in the room.

Akira takes a deep breath. He glances at the cuffs on his wrists again but leaves them be. His memory is still fuzzy and hazy but that's mostly due to the drugs. For the most part, he knows the important parts of what happened.

The irony. He's back for thirty minutes and this happens. That's got to be some kind of record.

Makoto would probably be impressed.

He waits for another two minutes and that's when the door opens and the woman walks back in, her face dark and unimpressed but something shifted. She looks...reluctant.

"You're free to go," she tells him as an officer follows her in and grabs Akira. He wrenches him up onto his feet and Akira feels confusion wash over him.

"But we'll be keeping an eye on you," she says as the officer uncuffs him and hauls him out of the room.

Akira is dragged down the long hallways, up a flight of stairs and down another set of hallways before he finds himself in the front offices of the police department. He'd wonders if Ryuji gave them hell, or maybe his parents managed to convince someone he's innocent. But when he's taken to the front desk, the last person he expects to see is Akechi Goro smiling at him as if he hadn't been pointing a gun at his head the last time they spoke.

"Hey," the brown haired boy says as Akira is given to him "Let's go."

Akira blinks, he glances back at the police officers but follows Akechi out of the building. He feels their eyes burning a hole in his back the entire way.

Outside, it's dark already. Akira rubs his wrists and follows Akechi down the stairs, onto the footpath. He follows Akechi down the road and the brown haired boy doesn't say anything. Akira can't think of anything to ask him either. Not anything that Akechi would be willing to answer.

Akechi leads him into a small cafe. The waitress seats them at a booth and Akira is still finding it hard to concentrate. This is a lot to deal with in one day and he feels his body practically sigh in relief as he slides into the booth and sits opposite Akechi.

The other doesn't look much different from how he was before. Same soft brown locks, same deceptively gentle eyes. Akechi may have thought he fooled the rest of the world into thinking of him as someone harmless but intelligent, however Akira was never fooled. Ryuji could be read by the emotions in his eyes, Akechi couldn't and that was what had ultimately given him away.

Because only someone as guarded and secretive as Akechi was would have had to learn how to hide his emotions, even in his eyes.

Akechi orders coffee and Akira mumbles the same. When the waitress is gone and they're alone, Akira belatedly notices the cafe is pretty much empty, save for them and an old couple in the corner. Akechi chose well.

"I'm going to assume you have questions," Akechi says in that light but serious tone of his "But we have very little time and I need to get this out before...well..." he pulls his phone out and sets it on the table before turning his eyes onto Akira.

He still has that same stare. Like he knows everything that's going on in Akira's head. It would be disconcerting if Akira didn't know better.

"After that business with my father, I went into hiding," Akechi explains calmly "It was safer. For both of us and I was in no physical state to reappear."

Akira figures. If Akechi hadn't died back there, he was at least gravely injured. Futaba hadn't been able to read any signs of life coming from the other side of the barrier but Akira had always held out some hope, miniscule though it was, that Akechi had survived.

Evidently, he had.

"But I always kept a close eye on you," Akechi continues "I saw everything. How you handed yourself in, how my father was finally convicted. It was a stroke of genius and I saw Sae's hand behind it."

Akira stays silent. The waitress brings them back their drinks and he keeps his eyes trained on Akechi. It's so like the other to be so calm and collected, even in this situation. The only reason why Akira understands him so easily is because he's the same. Not one for panicking.

"Anyway," Akechi sighs after he takes a sip of his coffee "Then I saw you come back here and of all the schools, of all the places you could have gone to..." he shakes his head "Either you somehow knew what was going on or you have the worlds worst luck"

"I'm going to go with the latter," Akira replies, tone sharp but patient.

Akechi nods "I thought so. But I'll explain what's going on once Sakamoto gets here. No doubt he'll ask and I hate repeating myself."

It doesn't take long. Ryuji bursts through the door like he's determined to rip the thing off its hinges and he's by Akira's side in seconds.

"Fuck man!" Ryuji says, plopping himself in the booth beside Akira "I saw the cops and I thought...for fucks sake you're...you gave me a heartattack. Don't do that again!"

He pulls Akira close with one arm around his shoulders and Akira thinks he sees a twinge of anger or discomfort in Akechi's eyes before the other skilfully hides it again behind his coffee.

"Morgana?" Akira asks.

Ryuji shook his head "I thought he was with you."

"He wasn't in the bag," Akira explains "That's when they..."

This doesn't make much sense. None of it does but when Ryuji finally registers Akechi's presence, his eyes widen in alarm "Dude, you're still alive?!"

"Perceptive as always, Sakamoto," Akechi drawls "Who did you think the message came from?"

"Dude, I thought you were Futaba or something!" Ryuji exclaims and Akira is distantly aware that he's the loudest thing in this quiet cafe. The old couple in the corner are scowling at him now for ruining their peace.

Akechi looks unimpressed too but he shakes his head and flicks the annoyance off like one would flick a fly away "Carrying on," he says, tone still unimpressed "You two have walked into Shinsou Academy at the worst possible time."

"Don't need a genius detective to tell me that," Ryuji grumbles.

Akechi ignores him "For the last two weeks, Shinsou Academy has been plagued with a series of unexplained and strange events. Students are going missing, some are attempting suicide, staff are reporting incidents of unprovoked violence and assault towards not only the student body but faculty as well."

Akira wonders if that was probably something Kojima should have warned them about on their first day.

Ryuji's eyebrows knit in confusion "You think someone is messing around with their heads? Like Mementos and shit?"

Akechi's eye twitches "No. You lot put a stop to that with your final stunt in the heart of Mementos, did you not?"

"Oh...right," Ryuji deflates.

"Even if that weren't the case and someone could still get into castles, that doesn't explain why we can't," Akechi continues and nods to Akira "You can't get back in, can you?"

Akira shakes his head. The app on his phone is gone but even Morgana, who never needed the app, couldn't return there. It's gone. It should be.

"Which means this is the result of something without supernatural means. A group branding themselves the Phantom Thieves are behind these attacks."

A beat. Akira feels Ryuji's rage light up before his own does and the other practically jumps out of his seat.

"But we're not-!"

"Clearly, they're a fake group using your name," Akechi cuts in before Ryuji can explode at him "But effective. They send out red calling cards just as the Phantom Thieves did and it's not long before something happens to the student or teacher they call out. The only reason these incidents have not been widely publicised is due to the efforts of the late principal. He had been working to keep these incidents from becoming public knowledge."

"Why?" Ryuji asks, eyebrows still knitted in a frown "And how? If there have been suicides...I mean everyone talked about Suzui after her attempt, there was nothing anyone could do to keep that down."

"Everyone in Shujin Academy talked about it," Akechi corrects him "The wider public didn't care. Student suicides are - sadly - a given, especially these days and the other incidents were easy to cover up. If the fake Phantom Thieves were after notoriety or fame, they just eliminated the only obstacle that was keeping their actions quiet."

"Won't they shut the school down after what happened?" Ryuji asks "I mean...that was a public execution. Right in front of all of us."

"No," Akechi answers "That's not going to happen. There are only two schools in this town and they can't afford to keep one student body at home, even for this incident. Investigations will continue but you will have to return to school and continue as normal."

Perhaps that's a little much to ask but there's a reasoning behind it that Akira can't deny.

"Fortunately, you won't be alone," Akechi promises "I will be transferring to your school as of tomorrow. We may not have the use of Personas to help us here but something is going on and I'm guessing you're not the 'running away' type."

He's right. Neither of them are. Akira doesn't even need to look at Ryuji to know the other isn't the kind to walk away from something like this - even if he knows it would be safer to. Without the use of Personas, they're as helpless as normal students.

Except they're not. Because they possess the will to get to the bottom of this - a trait not many students have. It's not much, but it's enough to keep them from running back to Tokyo and praying this goes away.

"Calling themselves the Phantom Thieves," Ryuji scowls "That's unforgivable enough. I'm not letting them get away with this."

Akechi smiles dryly "I figured as much," he says as his fingers close around the bottom of his cup "At the very least, we might be able to find some lead on who's behind this."

"We could use Futaba," Ryuji says "And Makoto and the others, maybe we could tell them..."

Akechi shakes his head right away "A large group of students from Tokyo suddenly transferring here would be noticed," he points out gravely "And if this group posing as the Phantom Thieves have any idea who they're posing as, that's a risk as well."

Ryuji opens his mouth to protest and stops when his brain catches up with him.

He deflates and sinks back in the booth "Shit," he mutters "Even if I tell Ann what's happening, nothing will stop her coming here. Especially if she hears Suzui is involved."

"Precisely why I suspect Suzui hasn't told her anything herself," Akachi deduces "The others should be kept in the dark as well. For now at least, until we know more."

"Fine," Ryuji relents. He eyes Akechi suspiciously "But dude seriously, how did you survive? Futaba said you'd died."

"I almost did," Akechi answers but he doesn't continue and the look in his eyes tells them both he's not going to go into the details either. It hardly matters right now, the point is he survived, he's here and they're in trouble...again.

Ryuji shoots Akira a doubtful look but even he understands the seriousness of this situation. Someone is posing as the Phantom Thieves, the principal has been murdered and Morgana is missing. In light of all that, Akechi turning up and getting Akira out of the interrogation room might just be more of a blessing than a curse.

"Now," Akechi says as he finishes his drink and places his cup down on the table "Onto the more serious business. Kurusu-kun, I seem to find myself in need of a place to stay."

Akira's eyebrows rise in surprise and Akechi grins at him "Just for the night. Think of it as a 'thank you' for getting you out of that interrogation room and keeping both of your parents in the dark about what happened to you."

"Dude, how did you even pull that off?" Ryuji asks, dumbfounded.

"I know how to talk to adults," Akechi explains with a flick of his hand "For your own sake, it might be safer if you're not alone tonight. With Morgana gone and the police keeping their eyes on you, it may be safer for you to have me around."

"Fuck that," Ryuji scoffs "He'll be safer with me around than you!"

Akechi ignores him and Akira tries to ignore the persistent flutter of nerves in his stomach. Akechi's gaze fools many into believing he's harmless and although Ryuji and Akira can't be fooled now, Akechi's eyes still do something weird to Akira.

"Fine," Akira relents at last and the smile that appears on Akechi's face reminds him of a lion with his prey.

He wonders if that makes him the prey in this instance.

"Excellent," Akechi beams "Then I suggest we go home soon. It's getting late and we wouldn't want your parents to suspect something happened to you."

He pays for their drinks and as he's busy at the counter, Ryuji takes Akira's arm and pulls him to the side "Watch your back," he warns him in a low voice "Anything happens, call me alright?"

Akira glances at Akechi over Ryuji's shoulder. The other is leisurely talking to the woman behind the counter but everything about him, his stance, his eyes, the way he holds himself, he's on guard. Akira has always been able to read people and Akechi is surprisingly the easiest of all to read.

Strange, considering nobody else can see through him.

"I'll get hold of Futaba," Akira says quietly "At the very least, she'll keep a secret and she's not likely to go here. She might be able to help us find Morgana...at best, the cat just ran off somewhere."

"Here's hoping," Ryuji huffs and lets go of Akira's arm as Akechi strolls up to them.

"Right," Akechi sighs "Let's go."

* * *

Akira can't tell what presumptions Akechi had about his life before the events of last year. What kind of student he'd been, what his parents had been life, his friends, his life before Shido took it off him, but it's nothing like it is now.

Despite the town remaining the same, almost all of his ties to friends and everything in his former school had been cut off the second he'd been slapped with an assault charge. The only things that had actually remained constant had been his house and his parents. Neither of whom batted an eye when he came home and casually informed them that Akechi was an old friend and he was staying the night.

Instead all that had happened was his mother had quietly laid out a futon on the floor of his bedroom and his father had grunted something about staying out of trouble before hiding behind his newspaper.

"Your parents are..." Akechi pauses, seemingly struggling for words as Akira lays a blanket out on the futon "...interesting."

It makes Akira smile. He chucks a pillow onto the futon and reaches to close his bedroom door before turning to look at the other boy "I think the word you're looking for is: cold."

Akechi raises and eyebrow and looks around Akira's room. Akira hasn't been here long enough but his room is generally as he left it. The bookcase is full of manga, textbooks and other things lying around on shelves. His desk still has some precision tools and lockpicks (Morgana actually insisted it was still important to learn this stuff, even if he is no longer a thief) and there's a sleeve sticking out of one of the drawers of his dresser. His bedroom is, for all intents and purposes, fairly normal. Not nearly as large as the one at Sakura's cafe had been.

"Not sure what I expected," Akechi says as Akira takes a seat on the end of his single bed "It's not like the leader of the real Phantom Thieves would deck his bedroom out any differently. If anything he'd be normal like this."

Akira pulls his phone out and looks over it for a moment, he turns to Akechi to see the other giving him a knowing look. Like he knows exactly what Akira plans to do.

"Futaba," he says simply.

"Fine," Akechi shrugs "I can't stop you. Besides, Sakura Futaba hardly seems like the type who'd gossip to the others. If anything, she'd understand the risk right away. If she isn't already aware of what's going on."

Just as he finishes his sentence, Akira's phone goes off and Futaba's name appears on the screen. Akechi grins and Akira wonders if his powers extend to predicting the future. If so, he'd like to know if he's going to survive the outcome of this impending danger...or tonight.

"AKIRA!" Futaba screams the second Akira dares to answer his phone "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Nice to hear from you too, Futaba," Akira winces and rubs his ear.

"Thirty minutes?! Thirty minutes into your first day at school and THAT happens?!" Futaba splutters "That's...if I wasn't so worried, I'd say that's impressive."

"Do the others know?" Akira asks with a glance to Akechi who seems quite amused. The other boy settles down on the futon and just watches.

"Not yet, no," Futaba answers, her voice thankfully a couple of levels quieter "Do you want me to-"

"Don't worry them," Akira advises "Just...what do you know?"

He can practically hear Futaba's unimpressed huff "I know the police suspected you right away. Even if you hadn't gone back into the school grounds, they'd have come asking questions anyway because of your history and the fact that this happened the day you came back."

Akira glances at Akechi who nods. It would have happened regardless simply because of who he is. The consequences of what happened with Shido are far-reaching indeed.

"As for the attack...I've hacked into the security cameras. The assailant shoots the principal and walks out of the school, nobody stops him. There was an unmarked van waiting for him outside the gates, the license plate is blank and once it drives off, that's it."

"What about Morgana?" Akira asks "When I went back to the school-"

"You went to your bag, I saw," Futaba says "I checked the cameras but there are no cameras in the classrooms, only in the hallways. But I didn't see anyone coming back from the time you left the classroom to when you came back...save from a few students who went back for their bags after the shooting."

None of them had taken Akira's bag either.

"Didn't see Morgana walk out on his own either," Futaba sounds uneasy "Could he have gone out the window? Cats land on their feet right?"

"Even if he did jump that height, he couldn't have opened the windows by himself," Akira frowns and as worried as he is, he's still trying to figure out how Morgana seemingly just disappeared. How a cat can disappear from a classroom without ever showing up on the cameras.

The only logical solution is that Morgana had gone into someone else's backpack and had been taken out then, but why would Morgana do such a thing?

"I'll keep looking but we don't have a lot to go on here," Futaba continues warily "The news of the shooting will get out soon enough and once the others find out it's your school, they'll want to come."

"Stop them if you can," Akira advises. As much as he would like to see the others. Yusuke, Ann, Makoto, Haru and Futaba, he can't risk it. Not when he barely knows what's going on here. The only thing worse than getting caught up in this, is getting his friends caught up in it as well. Ryuji is already in it but he can still spare the others.

"I'll try," Futaba promises "I might be able to stop Ann, Haru and Yusuke but Makoto..."

"If all else fails just tell them I really don't want them here as long as I don't know what's going on," Akira tells her "They'll get in the way if they come here themselves."

"Alright..." Futaba still sounds doubtful.

Akechi is still watching Akira quietly. Akira doesn't really like the way Akechi's eyes make him feel and he looks away to concentrate on the phone call instead.

"This group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves...the new Phantom Thieves," Futaba continues "Given the nature of the previous attacks. Student suicides, assaults...all of it being hushed by the school, I believe we're dealing with students of that school. At best, we have at least one student in that school who is part of this group."

Akira nods "The figure I saw...he could have been an adult or a student."

"Yes it was hard to tell," Futaba agrees "I think right now, our best bet is to take a roll call of the students present in that assembly and find out who was missing, then go from there. I'll have names for you tomorrow to start investigating."

"Sounds like a solid start," Akira nods and Akechi seems to agree as well "I'll leave it to you. Thanks Futaba."

"Wish you'd stayed here," Futaba grumbles "But maybe it was some sort of fate you ended up in the one school with a fake Phantom Thieves group."

Akira hums, he can't find much in the way of logical explanation here either. Nothing other than _'It was fate'_ that he had to end up here of all places. 

"Tell Akechi to keep his head down too," Futaba warns "People over there may not notice who he is but that fake Phantom Thieves group might."

Akechi shrugs and Akira shakes his head "I'll tell him."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Futaba promises "Don't get killed."

She hangs up and Akira puts his phone down. He looks at Akechi and the other seems to have no problem in watching him. Assessing him. Maybe it would make Akira feel more uncomfortable if he didn't have such a solid read on Akechi in return. There's nothing this guy can hide from him now, not now when he's seen him at his worst already.

"Well then," Akechi says with a smile that rushes right down Akira's spine "Shall we go to sleep?"

Akira shrugs, he lends Akechi a shirt to sleep in and changes in the bathroom. When he comes back, Akechi is already lying in the futon on the floor. Akira turns the light off and lays down on his own bed, his phone next to his head.

Silence drags on for about two minutes. During which Akira is acutely aware of Akechi's presence in his room.

It's strange. When Yusuke stayed over in his room that one time, it had been easy for Akira to forget he was even there. Aside from his quips and remarks, Yusuke was easy to ignore. He was even louder than Akechi and still he was easier to forget about.

Akechi however, Akira is very aware of him. He can't help it, it's like a twinge in his chest that won't let him forget that Akechi Goro is sleeping on the floor right next to his bed. His ears prick and can hear the other breathing and if he concentrates, he is even aware of the body heat the other produces.

"Kurusu," Akechi's soft voice breaks the silence and Akira closes his eyes. He doesn't answer, he doesn't need to, Akechi knows he's still awake.

"What do you live for?" he asks and it gives him away. Akira can read the tone right away.

At his core, Akechi has always been lonely. His desperate search for acceptance turned him into one of revenge and envy. It was what had driven him to the events that evidently nearly got him killed. He'd tried so hard to do this alone, to become famous, to be accepted and loved but it hadn't brought him what he really wanted. Then in those last moments before he'd shot the barrier up to save Akira and his friends, he'd understood at last. Akira had the one thing Akechi didn't have and that had been his end.

But Akira can't answer him. He doesn't have the answer himself. Not the one he suspects Akechi wants to hear.

After what had happened, Akechi had lost everything. His purpose, his drive. All he had left was himself. Abandoned, unloved by his own father, his mother hadn't cared enough to stay and had killed herself out of shame without thought for her own son. He had no friends, nobody he could honestly say he trusted.

No one but Akira himself.

When Akira doesn't answer, Akechi's chuckle is quiet "That's probably the right answer."

Akira can't help it. His lips twitch in a small smile and he turns his head, this time to sleep for real. He falls asleep to the sound of Akechi's breathing and somehow it makes him calmer than he has been in weeks.


	2. Questions

**4/16 - Saturday**  
  
It’s the buzz of his cellphone that wakes him up.  
  
Akira’s mind is barely functioning and everything is blurry as he instinctively registers the annoying buzz of the phone next to his head. He rolls onto his side and grabs the phone, mumbling sleepily as he puts it to his ear.  
  
“Akira,” Futaba’s voice rings in his ear “I did it. I found all the students who were absent from that assembly. I’m sending you the list now.”  
  
Akira groans. It’s too early to deal with this and he can’t even fully remember what happened yesterday. It’s all a blur of screaming and rushing around and...oh right, someone shot the principal in front of the school.  
  
Yeah...that.  
  
“Okay,” he sighs tiredly.  
  
“Get on it. The news is reporting on the shooting even here so expect calls from the others. I’ve sent them all a message warning them not to go anywhere near your town until we know what’s going on,” Futaba warns.  
  
Akira nods though he knows she can’t see him. He’s exhausted, it’s like he’s been in Mementos. The last thing he wants to do is get out of bed either, it’s never been so warm and comfortable before.  
  
“I’ll call if there’s anything else I find out,” Futaba says “Until then, stay safe okay? There’s a high chance that one of the students you talk to could be part of this fake group. If you die, I’ll bring you back to life so I can kill you myself, okay?”  
  
Akira makes an affirmative noise and that seems to be enough for her. She hangs up and he drops the phone onto his mattress.  
  
He’s about to fall asleep again when something shifts behind him. Akira’s senses wake up a little more and he looks down.  
  
There’s an arm around his waist.  
  
There’s heat pressed up against his back and he looks over his shoulder to see a mop of soft brown hair.  
  
He glances at the futon but it’s empty. Akechi Goro is snuggled up to his back, squishing them both on the tiny bed.  
  
For a moment, Akira is in one of those rare states of total shock and surprise. How the hell did Akechi get onto his bed without him noticing? Why?  
  
That at least explains why the bed is so warm. Even when Morgana sleeps near his legs, Akira has never felt this warm before. He shifts slightly in the bed, twisting and turning until he’s facing Akechi. The other is sound asleep, his head half on the pillow and brown locks softly tousled with sleep. Akira can’t help but notice his long lashes, his slightly parted lips and his arm, heavy and firm around Akira’s waist.  
  
Even if Akira had imagined that one day he’d be sharing a bed with Akechi, he wouldn’t have imagined the other was a snuggler.  
  
But it’s warm and strangely comforting and Akira’s too tired to make sense of what this means about him or figure out why Akechi’s in his bed to begin with. His eyes droop heavily and before he even realises it, he falls asleep to the sound of Akechi’s breathing.  
  
He wakes up some time later and Akechi’s already awake. Akira rolls onto his back and sees the other pulling his socks on before he notices Akira’s awake.  
  
Akechi’s smile is as warm as ever “Slept well?”  
  
Akira yawns, he sits up and it’s colder now. He rubs his hair and shakes his head “Don’t think I didn’t notice you in my bed,” he says and feels a small sense of victory when Akechi pauses halfway through putting his other sock on.  
  
“Ah,” Akechi falters - rare for him. He puts his other sock on properly and looks at Akira “About that...you made some noises in your sleep. I wasn’t sure what was going on with you but...I heard body heat helps and it did.”  
  
Akira wonders, distantly, what that says about him. That Akechi Goro snuggling like that into his back can calm him down enough to let him sleep more peacefully than he ever has before.  
  
Truth be told, it probably just means he needs to get a girlfriend. He should have taken Hifumi up when he had the chance.  
  
He checks his phone and notices the list Futaba sent him. There’s approximately ten names of students, three of teachers. All of whom had been absent from the footage that Futaba had been prowling all night. Akira notices the notification on the top of his screen and reluctantly pulls it down to find five missed calls. Two of them from Makoto, one from Ann, one from Yusuke and one from Haru. There are twenty messages from all of them as well as Sojiro and Sae. On top of that, the group chat is clogged.  
  
**Ann:** Akira! Answer your phone!  
  
**Makoto:** It’s probably too early…  
  
**Ann:** Ryuji isn’t answering either :(  
  
**Makoto:** Well we did have to get up earlier for assembly.  
  
**Yusuke:** It’s all the news is talking about, there are no other channels that don’t go on about this. Are they okay?  
  
**Futaba:** I told you guys already, they’re fine. Akira says none of you can go anywhere near his town until we figure out what’s going on.  
  
**Ann:** But…:(  
  
**Makoto:** I hate it, but he has a point. With the Metaverse gone, we’re pretty helpless.  
  
**Yusuke:** Guns too. This is nothing we’ve gone up against before. Not in real life.  
  
**Haru:** Probably best to sit tight and hope for the best. But is it true? Akechi?  
  
**Futaba:** Yes. He’s alive.  
  
**Ann:** …  
  
**Haru:** How?  
  
**Makoto:** My question exactly.  
  
**Futaba:** I don’t know but he’s alive. He’s with Akira.  
  
**Ann:** Is that wise?  
  
**Makoto:** Is that safe?  
  
**Futaba:** If it wasn’t, do you really think Ryuji would have let it happen?  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Futaba:** We have another problem too. Morgana went missing.  
  
**Yusuke:** Again?  
  
**Ann:** What happened?!  
  
**Futaba:** Like I said, I don’t know. I only know the basics and the main point is, Akira doesn’t want us anywhere near this so we’ll have to stay in Tokyo. For now.  
  
**Makoto:** For now, but the second we do know something, we’re coming down there.  
  
**Ryuji:** Dude, you guys are making sleep impossible with my phone buzzing non-stop. I’m fine alright, Akira’s fine, we’re both alive now would you all shut up?  
  
**Ann:** Ryuji!! Why didn’t you call right away?!  
  
**Haru:** I’m glad you’re both alright.  
  
**Yusuke:** Is it wise to stay down there? For once, this mess has nothing to do with us.  
  
**Makoto:** Aside from a fake Phantom Thieves group…  
  
**Yusuke:** Even so. Staying in a school where the principal was shot in front of everyone doesn’t seem like the wisest course of action. If something’s going on…  
  
**Ann:** Let the authorities handle this. Isn’t that what we entrusted to Sae when we shut down the Metaverse?  
  
**Makoto:** Sis is already in this case…  
  
**Ann:** See? Why do Ryuji and Akira even need to be there then? Come back to Tokyo!  
  
**Haru:** What about Morgana?  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Ryuji:** Guys. Shut up.  
  
**Ann:** Is Akira awake yet?  
  
**Yusuke:** If I remember correctly, he sleeps like the dead.  
  
**Haru:** Ryuji, why don’t you just set your phone to silent?  
  
**Ann:** What if Akechi did something to him?  
  
**Makoto:** Last time we saw him, he saved us, remember? Why would he hurt Akira now?  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Ann:** He also tried to kill us.  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Futaba:** STOP SAYING POINT!  
  
**Ryuji:** For fucks sake guys!  
  
**Haru:** Silent mode. Button on side of phone.  
  
**Akechi:** Are you guys aware I’m still in the group chat?  
  
**Ann:** …  
  
**Makoto:** …  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Futaba:** I’m gonna smack you.  
  
**Ryuji:** That’s it. I give up. I’m getting up now.  
  
**Akechi:** Meet us at the cafe near the school for breakfast.  
  
**Ryuji:** Only if you’re buying.  
  
**Ann:** Is Akira awake yet?  
  
**Yusuke:** Like the dead…  
  
**Futaba:** Oy Akechi, did you do anything to him last night?!  >:(  
  
**Akechi:** I’m not even going to grace that with an answer.  
  
**Futaba:** I’ll tear your balls off and feed them to you if you’ve hurt him!  
  
**Haru:** Futaba-chan!  
  
Akira rubs his eyes and glances at Akechi, who is looking somewhat amused. He shakes his head and taps into the reply button.  
  
**Akira:** I’m awake.  
  
**Ryuji:** About time.  
  
**Ann:** Akira! Are you alright?!  
  
**Futaba:** Did he do anything to you???  
  
**Akechi:** I can still read this, you know.  
  
**Akira:** I’m fine. He just snuggled me last night.  
  
**Ryuji:** ha ha ha, good one.  
  
**Futaba:** O_O  
  
**Yusuke:** What kind of snuggling?  
  
**Ann:** Why would you ask that?!  
  
**Yusuke:** Just trying to get an imagery here, was it snuggling like lover snuggling or was it like burrowing for heat?  
  
**Haru:** Are you painting again?  
  
**Makoto:** It’s too early for this…  
  
**Ryuji:** Dude I don’t need the imagery...I need my appetite.  
  
**Yusuke:** I’m thinking landscape...no, portrait…  
  
**Ryuji:** …  
  
**Futaba:** You could make your own doujinshi.  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Futaba:** AGH!  
  
Akira puts his phone down and glances at Akechi, who is just barely hiding his laughter behind his hand. It’s interesting because when Akechi laughs on TV during his interviews, it’s a lifeless chuckle for the cameras with no real humour. When he was cackling whilst going berserk, it was insanity and chaos. This laugh however. This is honest amusement, light and it makes his shoulders shake with barely contained laughter.  
  
It looks and sounds good on him.  
  
“Let’s go,” Akechi suggests, suppressing another round of laughter as he gets up onto his feet “We should meet up with Sakamoto and figure out how we’re going to handle today.”  
  
Akira watches the other and remembers that the only thing that had stopped Akechi last time was that he’d been alone. He hadn’t had friends. It had taken all of their combined power to stop him. If Akira had taken him on alone, Akechi would have killed him.  
  
But things are different now and this new look on Akechi, light-hearted and genuinely amused. It looked really good on him and it made Akira’s chest do weird things.  
  
He hoped it was just gas.  
  
* * *  
  
“Dude the media is going crazy on this,” Ryuji yawns as they settle in a booth. It’s early in the morning, the cafe is dimly lit with sunlight coming in through the windows. It’s a nice, warm feel and that explains why it’s mostly filled with students from the same school.  
  
Apparently, everyone had the same idea.  
  
Akira slides into the booth and makes sure he’s on Ryuji’s side. He watches Akechi fit into the other side and tries not to make eye contact as he picks up a menu instead.  
  
“My ma was on my case,” Ryuji continues, not picking up on Akira’s discomfort at all as he throws an arm over the back of the booth seat and leans back “She was sayin’ how we probably should go back to Tokyo and _‘nothin’ like this ever happened there!’_ ” he scoffs and flags down the waitress “If only she knew.”  
  
Akechi levels him with a doubtful glance and drawls “Yes, I’m sure she’d believe you if you told her everything that happened last year. Be sure to add the bit about the talking cat, she’ll love it.”

"I wasn’t actually gonna tell her anything!” Ryuji protests. The scowl on his face lasts all of two seconds before he grins at the waitress and orders the deluxe breakfast.  
  
Akechi’s right eyebrow arches perfectly “Hungry, Sakamoto?”  
  
“Dude, shut up,” Ryuji scowls and nudges Akira “Anyway, what did you find out?”  
  
Akira glances at Akechi and feels a familiar twist in his stomach that ultimately tells him he’s not going to be very hungry. He orders a coffee instead and Akechi follows suit. When the waitress leaves, Akira pulls his phone out, pulls up the list and hands his phone to Ryuji.  
  
“Thirteen people in total,” Akechi says “That’s a lot of people to investigate but it stands to reason that it’s a good place to start. Sakura can research on their alibis, we just need to talk to them.”  
  
“What about people who were present at the assembly and were waiting for that to happen?” Akira points out “Maybe someone wasn’t surprised to see the principal shot in the head.”  
  
“It’s possible, but not the easiest route,” Akechi shrugs “Not the fastest either. We’re running on limited time and we don’t know what’s going to happen next.”  
  
“It might be a good idea to interview students we can trust too,” Ryuji adds “Like Suzui. We don’t know exactly what’s been going on and she’s been a student there for awhile. She might know something.”  
  
Akechi feigns surprise “My god, the thug has a brain!”  
  
“Man, I’m gonna thump you in a minute,” Ryuji threatens, his scowl vanishing the second the waitress comes back with their food and drinks.  
  
They wait until she’s gone before Akira brings up the important part “We need to think about what happened with Morgana. If this was him taking off on his own, he’d have gone back to my place already.”  
  
Akechi nods “The cameras didn’t catch him wandering out on his own either, which...really, logically speaking, it actually only means one thing: He left in someone else's bag.”  
  
Ryuji looks up from his breakfast, a grain of rice still on his bottom lip “Why would he do that?”  
  
For a moment, Akechi gives him this irritated look and sighs patiently “Well I didn’t say he got into it voluntarily. Sakura said that a few students came back for their bags after the shooting. I can understand some of them were in shock and went for their important things but most students would think to run first and come back for their bags later and it’s the only opportunity they would have to get Morgana out.”  
  
“They’d have had to have known Morgana was in my bag in the first place,” Akira points out as he reaches out and swipes the rice grain off Ryuji’s lip. The movement causes a flash of anger in Akechi’s eyes for just a second before he hides it behind his coffee again.  
  
“They could have heard him meowing,” Ryuji shrugs, not at all disturbed as he continues eating “I mean, I did pull the zip over him. He can’t have known what was going on and he can’t have gotten out on his own.”  
  
“Or,” Akechi sets his cup down “I could present a more disturbing theory: Whoever took Morgana could have known he was there without even hearing him which means they’d have known exactly who you were, Kurusu.”  
  
He levels his eyes on Akira’s “Think about it. The leader of the former Phantom Thieves. If you were part of this fake group and you knew about this, you’d take the cat.”  
  
Ryuji looks doubtful and Akira frowns. Something’s missing from that theory. It’s plausible but at the same time the Metaverse is gone. Morgana is about as useful as a normal cat - with the exception being that everyone who was in the Metaverse can hear him speaking in Japanese.  
  
“We could...be dealing with people who were in the Metaverse before we shut it down,” Akira says carefully “I mean we have no way to tell that we were the only ones in there and we were only using it for the wider Tokyo area. Anything beyond that...I can assume our actions affected Japan as a whole but the main activities were in Tokyo. If someone was using it from here, it’s unlikely we’d have ever bumped into them.”  
  
Ryuji jumps and grabs Akira’s arm “Dude, do you think the Metaverse is just closed in Tokyo but open here?!”  
  
“The Metaverse is closed to everyone,” Akechi points out, his tone irritated again “That means everyone. Japan and worldwide, nobody can get to it after what the Phantom Thieves did.”  
  
Ryuji glares "You weren’t even there!”  
  
“Oh right,” Akechi laughs, this is one of his laughs that sound more irritated than amused “I somehow missed the huge god thing in the sky and that overwhelming show of support from everyone on Shibuya Square. Not to mention the Metaverse bleeding into real life. Nope, missed it all.”  
  
“It was the only way to deal with it,” Akira points out firmly “And that’s not the issue. The issue is that Morgana is gone and we actually don’t have any solid ideas on how. If he’s been kidnapped, we need to act fast.”  
  
“With any luck, the damn cat will find a way to escape,” Ryuji deflates and leans back in the booth again “Cats are slippery like that, right?”  
  
Akechi shakes his head but leaves it alone and Akira’s head is sorting through what they need to do.  
  
They need to go through the people who were absent, he needs to get Futaba on identifying the students who came back for their bags and they have to find out who is posing as the Phantom Thieves.  
  
All of this in a limited amount of time.  
  
“Ryuji, find Suzui and see what you can get out of her first,” he instructs “We’ll divide the names of the absent people we need to find.”  
  
“That’s thirteen divided by three,” Akechi points out “I’m better at talking to adults so I’ll take the teachers and two students. You two can take four each, that’ll cut down time.”  
  
“We can meet back here after school,” Ryuji suggests as he looks around “This works as a hideout for now.”  
  
Akechi’s eye twitches “It’s not exactly low profile…”  
  
“For lack of time, it works for today at least,” Akira agrees “We have to get through all these people as soon as we can. Once the police mop up the incident, it’s going to be harder to get information unless we can get hold of Sae. Makoto said she’s on this case.”  
  
Ryuji winces “That’s a lot of things to do.”  
  
“We don’t have time,” Akechi huffs and finishes his coffee “On top of that we have to be normal students. I haven’t been a normal student for awhile.”  
  
That causes Ryuji to laugh “Enjoy it when the teacher hurls his chalk at your forehead. Hope you’re proficient enough to dodge.”  
  
Akechi glances at Akira who nods. Akira himself had been whacked in the forehead a couple of times before he learnt how to dodge it.  
  
Ryuji finishes his breakfast and Akira only manages half the coffee. The three of them then get up, pay and head out towards the school.  
  
“I’m gonna hurl,” Ryuji complains as they go through the gates “That was too much food.”  
  
Akechi rolls his eyes “Why’d you order it then?”  
  
“Because you were paying,” Ryuji answers as though Akechi’s some sort of idiot “Dude, I wasn’t gonna pass that up!”  
  
“You’re so mature.”  
  
* * *  
  
By some sort of twist of fate (that’s the only way Akira can reason with these events) Akechi is placed in their class and put in the desk behind him. The girls respond more with him. Akira hears them sighing and going on about how good he looks before he even takes his seat.  
  
It makes him feel uncomfortable when he catches them looking at Akechi.  
  
Even Kojima is nicer to him than she ever was to Akira and Ryuji.  
  
“Man that’s so not fair,” Ryuji complains when they get a break “Did you see Kojima-sensei? Going all goo-goo eyed on Akechi.”  
  
“Maybe we should spend less time worrying about that and more time focussing on finding people,” Akechi drawls “Do you have your names?”  
  
Ryuji nods to Suzui, who is sitting alone at her desk, back hunched over her homework “I’ll talk to her first,” he says “Track down the others at lunch.”  
  
He walks over to her and Akechi pulls his phone out to look over his list of names. He sighs “I’ll start with the teachers.”  
  
He wanders out of the room and Akira notices the girls watching him leave.  
  
_‘Isn’t he cute?’_  
  
_‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…’_  
  
_‘Me too! I wonder where…’_  
  
_‘He’s cute enough to be an idol! Do you think he could be in Arashi?’_  
  
Ignoring them, Akira heads back to his desk and pulls out his phone.  
  
**Akira:** Futaba.  
  
**Futaba:** Here. What do you need?  
  
**Akira:** You said you saw people going back in the class after the shooting for their bags, right?  
  
**Futaba:** Yeah, they were panicked.  
  
**Akira:** Can you ID them? One of them might have taken Morgana.  
  
**Futaba** :...that’s a thought. I’ll get you some names by this afternoon.  
  
He looks up and sees Ryuji sitting next to Shiho and talking to her quietly. The girls sitting near Akira are still going on about Akechi and Akira tries to ignore the twinge of discomfort it causes him.  
  
Maybe he’s just hungry.  
  
At lunch break, the three of them split up to find the students they’re to interview. Akira tracks two of them down in the courtyard and when he asks why they weren’t there yesterday, one says he was sick and the other bluntly states he was smoking in the bathroom. The girl Akira finds near the gymnasium says she had a leg injury and stayed home that day and the boy he finds on the rooftop happily explains that he was losing his virginity to his college girlfriend.  
  
Futaba could probably find their alibi’s fairly easily and that rules them off the list but it doesn’t make this search any easier.  
  
He comes back to the classroom to find Ryuji already sitting at his desk. Akira puts his phone down and flops into his chair.  
  
“Dude, how’d you do?” Ryuji asks, he looks tired.  
  
“Absent for various reasons but all plausible,” Akira shrugs “You?”  
  
“The kids at this school have no stamina. I asked one kid why he was off and he coughed in my face and said he had a flu. No shit man.” Ryuji rubs at his face again “If I come down with something, I’m gonna kill him.”  
  
Akechi comes back and takes a seat at his desk. He huffs “Nothing. They’re all sick or bunking. The teachers who weren’t there said they had a conference.”  
  
“I’ll have Futaba check their excuses anyway,” Akira says “What about Suzui?”  
  
Ryuji suddenly looks uncomfortable and he shakes his head “She told me some pretty messed up stuff. Last week there was a suicide here. Some kid jumped off the roof. Apparently the week before that, a teacher was fired for lashing out on some student. The kid didn’t even do anything but he beat the shit out of him before the other teachers came to stop him. When they asked him why he did it, he said he couldn’t remember.”  
  
Akira exchanges an uneasy glance with Akechi. That sounds an awful lot like what was going on when the Metaverse was still open.  
  
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Akechi points out “If the Metaverse was still open, we’d know. Morgana would have known. Whatever’s going on...it’s not cognitive.”  
  
Ryuji shrugs “Sounds like Metaverse shit to me. There might be other ways to get people to behave like that though.”  
  
Akira knows there are but usually the people behind causing these things are far more powerful. That makes exposing and taking them down much harder.  
  
“Ah, there’s something else too,” Ryuji pulls a blue card from his pocket and flicks it onto Akira’s desk “That was given to the people who were targeted. The ones who tried to suicide, the ones who lashed out, they got those right before it happened.”  
  
It’s a calling card. It’s almost identical to the ones the Phantom Thieves used, logo and all. Only this time, the card is blue, not red. But the wording, the style, it’s identical.  
  
Akechi hums “So...what? Phantom Thieves 2?”  
  
“These guys aren’t even on the same level as the real Phantom Thieves,” Ryuji growls “They’re posers using our name to do their dirty shit. We gotta stop them.”  
  
Akira flicks the card around in his fingers and shakes his head.  
  
“No,” Akechi snaps, as if reading his mind “It’s not possible. It’s not even probable. After everything that happened, the Metaverse is not open. It can’t be.”  
  
Akira checks his phone and sure enough, that app is gone. There’s nothing that can let him into the Metaverse but he can’t help but consider that possibility. If it is open and they can’t get into it, there has to be something, some explanation.  
  
The bell rings and Ryuji gets up to return to his desk. Akira glances back at Akechi who still shakes his head.  
  
“It’s not possible,” Akechi tells him. Akira isn’t completely convinced.  
  
* * *  
  
The three of them return to the cafe after school and somehow manage to snag a quiet booth in the corner. They order drinks and Akira calls Futaba before putting her on speaker and setting his phone in the middle of the table.  
  
“I ran a check on everyone,” Futaba says “There was a teachers conference yesterday. That covered two of the three teachers that were absent yesterday.”  
  
Akechi frowns “Two?”  
  
“Yes. One of them didn’t go. I have airport footage of two of them going, but the third isn’t present. His name was booked on the flight as well, he didn’t get there,” Futaba explains “Just to be thorough, I also ran a check on the students and all of them were where they said they were. The ones who were sick at home were covered by their own parents.”  
  
Ryuji chokes on his drink “You called their parents?!”  
  
“It was easy, with investigations going on all I had to do was say I was a detective,” Futaba huffs “Keep up. Anyway. The ones who weren’t at home were covered by the people they were with. Like that guy who said he was with his college girlfriend, there’s actually footage of him going into her room and coming back out ten hours later so it couldn’t have been him either.”  
  
“Then our only lead is the teacher who was supposed to be at the conference,” Akechi hums “But I talked to all three of them and they all said they’d been there. Which one was lying?”  
  
“Guy named Minagawa Shion,” Futaba says.  
  
Ryuji frowns “Isn’t that our history teacher?”  
  
“He was a historian, an archaeologist before he became a teacher so that makes sense I guess,” Futaba explains, something shuffles in the background “Anyway, he was supposed to be there but he never made the flight.”  
  
“Could he have gotten there some other way?” Akira asks “Maybe he overslept and missed the flight. In that case, he could have used a train or something.”  
  
“I’d have noticed,” Futaba says “Besides, the conference was in Okinawa. He needed a plane. No flight afterwards has his name either, he stayed in Tokyo.”  
  
Akira glances at Akechi, who nods “Could be our guy.”  
  
“Any progress on Morgana?” Akira asks “Those kids who came back for their bags.”  
  
“There were three of them,” Futaba says “And they’re all in your class. Amano Kazuya, Nagase Sora and Ishida Hikaru. If Morgana was kidnapped, it could have only been by one of them.”  
  
Ryuji looks up and Akira can tell he’s trying to place the name to faces but they’ve only been in that class for two days and it wasn’t nearly enough time to get to know people, much less learn their names.  
  
Akechi sighs heavily “The guy who sits in front of you, Sakamoto, that’s Amano. Nagase is near the door and Ishida is at the front nearest the window. Do you two notice nothing?”  
  
“Shut up Akechi,” Ryuji grumbles and leans back with his drink “So what’s the plan? Do we bang some heads today or wait for tomorrow?’  
  
“Tomorrow is Sunday, chances of finding them are small,” Akechi eyes Ryuji like he can’t believe someone is this stupid, he turns to the phone “Any chance one of them is in a club and could still be on campus?”  
  
“I can do better than that,” Futaba promises and they can hear her fingers flying on the keyboard already “A quick look in the school security cameras will tell me where they are if they’re still on campus.”  
  
Akira taps his fingers on his cup and tries to think. They have some leads now but it would be much easier if they had the use of the Metaverse. There lies that possibility - although Akechi says its impossible - that it’s still there.  
  
It makes sense to doubt the certainty that it’s gone. After all, things like cognitive worlds, distorted castles and Mementos hadn’t even been a reality before he’d gone to Tokyo. Soon after he’d been swept up in those worlds simply because something had chosen him and Akechi. Although the final battle had seemed epic and like it really could end everything, Akira still learnt to doubt.  
  
“We’re in luck!” Futaba announces gleefully “All three of them are still on campus. Nagase is in the baseball club in the back field. Amano is in the library and Ishida is in the student newspaper room.”  
  
“Let’s split up,” Ryuji suggests as he quickly finishes his drink and tosses it into the bin “One of them might have Morgana and we gotta catch them before they go home.”  
  
“What about Minagawa?” Akira asks “What should we do with him?”  
  
“Approaching him may be dangerous if he is actually part of this new group,” Futaba says, her fingers still tapping loudly on the keyboard “Give me some time to dig up everything I can on him before I let you guys confront him. In the meantime, catch those students.”  
  
She hangs up and Akira slips his phone back into his pocket before sliding out of the booth with the others. It turns out, Ryuji’s choice for a hangout wasn’t too bad. The cafe wasn’t that crowded in the afternoon and it was comfortably close to the school campus so they could just walk back.  
  
“I’ll take Nagase,” Ryuji volunteers as they walk back through the school gates.  
  
“I’ve got Amano,” Akechi says “Kurusu, you take Ishida. We’ll meet back here afterwards.”  
  
When they walk back through the doors, Ryuji takes off for the backfields immediately. Akira is about to head for the stairs when Akechi grabs his arm and pulls him in.  
  
Akechi’s eyes are serious and it makes something in Akira’s chest thud, hard, when he feels the almost iron tight grip that Akechi has on his arm.  
  
“Be careful,” Akechi advises him quietly “If we’re going up against a group that are not only using the name of the Phantom Thieves but also publicly executing people, we have to be careful. Now more than ever. We don’t have the Metaverse to back us up this time.”  
  
Akira ignores the way his heart skips a beat, or the heat coming off the other and swallows hard.  
  
“Are you sure?” he questions and his tone gives him away. He can’t be sure of anything right now. It’s only the second day and all this shit is happening, the Metaverse coming back into play would not surprise him.  
  
Akechi’s eyes are dark and firm “It’s gone,” he tells him “It has to be.”  
  
Akira senses a slight feel of desperation coming off the other. Like it’s not just that he firmly believes the Metaverse is gone, he doesn’t want the Metaverse to come back and in a way, Akira can understand. Akechi could invoke some powerful Personas there, but ultimately that power and his goal behind it had been what had driven him mad. It was what had put them on opposite sides of the field.  
  
“I’ll be careful,” Akira promises and he manages a small smile before he gently shakes Akechi off and heads for the stairs.  
  
He feels Akechi’s eyes on his back the whole way.  
  
Akira eventually locates the student newspaper room on the third floor near the student council room. This school is not unlike Shujin Academy with it’s identical hallways and occasional lagging student who hangs in the hallway until someone tells them to go home.  
  
Approaching the door, Akira reaches for the knob before he notices the door is already slightly ajar. His curiosity gets the better of him as he peeks inside instead. Through the slit of the door, he can see three tables, two of which have so much paper strewn about in every direction. The third table has a computer and a boy with very light brown hair sitting hunched over the keyboard.  
  
He’s tiny. Ishida Hikaru looks more like a first year. He has rectangular glasses, his hair looks like he’d stuck a fork in an electrical outlet. It sticks out in all directions and it seems to have been done so deliberately. His uniform is about one size too big for him and Akira can see he’s wearing red sneakers instead of school shoes.  
  
Ishida types quietly for a moment before he looks up, checks the room and digs his bag out from under his table. Akira waits and watches as he places the bag on his lap and slowly opens it.  
  
Morgana’s head immediately pokes out.  
  
“I can’t breathe in there!” Morgana screeches at him “What on earth are you-!”  
  
“Shh!” Ishida hisses desperately. He looks around again and Akira presses himself closer to the wall to avoid being seen.  
  
“The hell I’ll be quiet!” Morgana yells at him “You’ve kept me in that bag for a whole day now, who are you?!”  
  
“All will be explained soon,” Ishida says quietly as he takes Morgana out by the neck “Just take me to the Metaverse.”  
  
Akira pulls his phone out and quickly shoots a message to Akechi and Ryuji.  
  
‘It’s Ishida. Third floor. Hurry.’  
  
Morgana glares at Ishida “The Metaverse is GONE. How stupid can you get?! Who are you? How do you even know about the Metaverse?!”  
  
Ishida’s eyes widen and an indignant look appears on his face “The Metaverse isn’t gone!”  
  
“Yes it is!” Morgana hisses, swiping his paws futilely in the air “We made sure of that!”  
  
“It can’t be gone! I was just in there yesterday, look!” Ishida exclaims and pulls up his phone.  
  
Akira recognises the app right away. It’s a red glowing eye. It’s the Metaverse.  
  
Morgana doesn’t say anything, he wriggles and tries to get away but Ishida holds him close and presses the app button.  
  
“Look, see!” he shouts desperately “Minagawa. School. Excavation site!”  
  
“Don’t!” Morgana screams but it’s too late, reality is already distorting. Akira feels a wave of nausea rush through him as his surroundings shift and warp. He holds onto the wall, he doesn’t have a choice and he knows whats happening. This is far too familiar.  
  
Akira closes his eyes for just a moment and when he opens them, the school is gone.  
  
A hot breeze hits Akira’s face and when he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is sand. There’s sand everywhere. He’s in the middle of a desert and in the distance he can see what appears to be man made squares set into the sand. Each square has holes, jewels and bones stick out from the sand and there are shovels everywhere.  
  
Akira looks around, he’s still wearing his uniform which means he’s not a threat here. Not yet anyway. Not too far from him, he spots Ishida in his uniform but Morgana has transformed into the thief cat he once was.  
  
Morgana twists until Ishida drops him into the sand.  
  
“What did you do?!” Morgana demands “Where are we?!”  
  
“I told you, we’re in the Metaverse,” Ishida tells him “I told you it wasn’t gone!”  
  
“Then why did you kidnap me to get in here if you could already get in here yourself?!” Morgana snaps at him “What is wrong with you?!”  
  
Ishida’s previous desperation vanishes and he shrinks a little “I just...a Phantom Thief needs the cat otherwise it’s not the real one!”  
  
Morgana stares at him with wide eyes and waves his paws in the air in exasperation “Are you insane?! Do you even know the first thing about being a Phantom Thief?!”  
  
“You could teach me?” Ishida points out hopefully.  
  
“NOT GONNA HAPPEN!” Morgana screams and Akira walks over to them.  
  
When Morgana sees him, he jumps at him right away.  
  
“Joker!” Morgana nearly cries with joy “I’m so happy to see you! I’ve been stuck in his bag all night! Ever since he took me out of yours!”  
  
Ishida looks at Akira with wide eyes and takes a precautionary step back “Oh,” he pales “You’re…”  
  
“How do you know about Morgana?” Akira asks and gestures around himself “How did you know about this place?”  
  
“I...I…” Ishida pulls his phone out and shows it to Akira “That app. It just showed up on my phone awhile ago. I didn’t know how to use it for the longest time and then I heard about the Phantom Thieves in Tokyo and I thought they were SO COOL,” he gushes. The force of his fanboying is actually alarming because his eyes get wide and he can’t seem to contain himself “So I did ALL the research, I tracked Mishima down and we had a really, really long chat about you.”  
  
“Mishima…” Morgana growls as he settles himself on Akira’s shoulder.  
  
“Then I heard you - the real Phantom Thief - was coming back home and to my school AND to my class! It had to be fate!” Ishida gushes.  
  
“So...what?” Akira blinks “You steal Morgana and try to be me?”  
  
“Yeah!” Ishida chirps happily as if he hasn’t committed some form of creepy crime to get this far “Cool isn’t it!”  
  
Akira can already imagine Ryuji tearing this kid a new one if he could hear this. He glances around the desert and frowns “Minagawa….”  
  
“Yeah, Minagawa-sensei has a...I don’t know what you call it but this is his,” Ishida explains.  
  
“A distorted heart has a castle,” Morgana explains “If we got here using Minagawa’s name, it means he thinks of the school as his own excavation site. Though I don’t know how that works…at least with Kamoshida it was pretty straightforward.”  
  
“I thought the Metaverse was gone,” Akira breathes “After everything we did, I thought that was going to be it.”  
  
“I thought so too,” Morgana mutters and turns back to Ishida “So? What’s your aim? I hope you know you can’t just go into a castle unarmed like you are. You’re gonna get killed.”  
  
“Well that was why I wanted you,” Ishida points to Morgana “You trained him right? That means you’re the brains behind the Phantom Thieves!”  
  
As creepy as this kid is, Akira can practically feel the heat of warmth radiating off Morgana at being praised. He’s really easy to win over.  
  
“The principal was shot yesterday,” Akira explains to Ishida “In front of everyone.”  
  
“I know,” Ishida shrugs harmlessly.  
  
“Only a complete moron would go back for their backpack after that,” Akira scolds “What if they’d attacked you too? Or Morgana? You put him in danger too.”  
  
Ishida pouts “But they didn’t! They wouldn’t either, those attacks are different.”  
  
“How?” Akira asks “From what I understand, there is a fake Phantom Thieves running around Shinsou Academy and they’re probably responsible for the suicides and assaults. Am I wrong?”  
  
“No, you’re right,” Ishida nods easily “These Phantom Thieves give your group a really bad name. I don’t know what their goal is but they’ve been terrorising the school. The principal got a calling card the morning of the shooting, which meant he was the only one in danger of being attacked.”  
  
This kid is a moron.  
  
Akira sighs and glances at Morgana, who’s deep in thought on his shoulder.  
  
“There’s more going on and we need to get to the bottom of it,” Morgana says “News of a fake Phantom Thieves is disturbing but if this Minagawa has a castle, it means his desires are distorted enough to get this bad. We need to look into this. If the fake group can get into the Metaverse, we’ll no doubt bump into them at some point.”  
  
“Great!” Ishida gushes “Can I join? Obviously, since I have the app I must have the potential, right?”  
  
Morgana growls but unfortunately Ishida has a point. That app doesn’t just appear on anyone’s phone. There has to be a reason. Akira wonders if he’s going to get a visit from Igor and Lavenza soon.  
  
“We’ll think about it, kid,” Morgana promises reluctantly “In the meantime, we better get out of here. We’re not safe and we need our group.”  
  
That’s it then. They have to call in the others.  
  
Akira checks his phone and sure enough, the app is back. It’s glowing red and pushing the surrounding apps out of the way as it had done before.  
  
“Come on, kid,” Morgana says to Ishida “If you’re going to be a Phantom Thief, I’m going to make sure you’re one that doesn’t get the rest of us killed.”

Ishida’s ecstatic face is the last thing Akira sees before the Metaverse warps and slides them back into reality.


	3. The Deal

**4/17 - Sunday**  
  
Akira recognises the music before he fully realises where he is. That lofty feeling of floating on air, the strange space in between dreams and wakefulness, he knows exactly where he is before he even opens his eyes.  
  
His body is exhausted. His limbs protest and weigh him down even as he sits up and opens his heavy eyes to look around.  
  
It appears to be some sort of living room. Complete with loungers, chairs, a coffee table, plants and a desk. But it’s dark. The only lights are dim and come from candles. One on the desk, illuminating a long nose Akira could never forget, the other being held by a girl who kneels beside the couch he’d been sleeping on. Her large eyes are wide and concerned, her long blonde hair is straight and glints even in the dim light and her thick, hardback book sits on the coffee table.  
  
Lavenza.  
  
“So, you are awake,” Igor hums and drums his fingers as he leans on the desk “Welcome back.”  
  
Akira’s head aches and he can’t focus. Even the Velvet Room now is blurring and dimming out of his focus.  
  
He feels a light hand on his shoulder as Lavenza’s concerned eyes appear closer to him.  
  
“Don’t strain yourself,” she advises in that soft, eerie voice of hers “Your body is not used to being in the Metaverse as it has been some time. Furthermore, after how it ended last time…”  
  
“I don’t understand,” Akira says, his voice coming out closer to a whisper “I thought it was over.”  
  
“It should have been over,” Igor explains calmly “Your actions did not just ‘close’ the Metaverse as some of your companions seem to think. That final battle caused the ‘collapse’ of the Metaverse, it should have finished there.”  
  
Akira shakes his head. Clearly that’s not the case as the Metaverse is here, alive and kicking. Complete with castles and he doesn’t even want to think about Mementos.  
  
“The only thing that could bring back the Metaverse would be a being more powerful than the Metaverse itself,” Lavenza adds and Akira picks up on the slight panic in her tone. He knows why as well. Last time they’d been up against a god, a huge being in the sky who nearly tore the world apart with his desire to control everyone and everything. It had taken a colossal amount of power to take him down and Akira already knows he doesn’t have that power anymore.  
  
Arsene disappeared when the Metaverse did.  
  
Something more powerful than a god. More powerful than the pain in the ass that Yaldabaoth had been. It hurts Akira’s head to think about it and he can’t even begin to think of where he’d find such a being.  
  
“However this is disturbing,” Igor speaks in a tone that doesn’t give away how disturbed he probably is “The current state of events are chaotic, unplanned and will eventually lead to catastrophe. I’m afraid we will have to enter another deal.”  
  
Akira takes a deep breath but this isn’t something he’s going to refuse. No matter how tired he is, or how annoying it is to think that this is going to happen again, he can’t walk away from it. Especially when he has the power to avoid whatever ruin is coming their way. Something more powerful has recreated the Metaverse.  
  
That just means something more powerful is about to get its ass kicked.  
  
“We will guide you through this,” Lavenza promises gently “You’ve proven your worth as a Trickster already. It will be our duty to aid you in your quest.”  
  
“Of course, no such deal can be made yet,” Igor states “Not until he gets here.”  
  
Akira looks up. In the dim lighting of the Velvet Room, he realises he’d been sleeping on a couch. It’s one of two. The other sits on the opposite side of the coffee table, untouched and pristine with cushions placed on the left side. They’re almost identical, cream in colour with enough space to fit three people sitting (or one person sleeping evidently). The couch Akira woke up on had red cushions. The other has blue.  
  
“Now then,” Lavenza says, a tone of finality in her voice as she stands up again and looks at him “Your time with us has come to an end for now. We will see you next, when he gets here.”  
  
Akira’s too exhausted to figure out who they’re talking about. His limbs feel heavy even as he lays back down again and rests his head on the crimson cushions. Falling asleep is as fast as closing his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
He wakes up to the sound of arguing. Ryuji’s voice pierces his subconscious mind a lot faster as he opens his eyes and groans at the intrusive sunlight coming in through the windows.  
  
He sits up and recognises Ryuji’s bedroom right away. It’s pretty distinctive. Just like Ryuji has his own style, so too does his bedroom and it doesn’t seem to matter that he’d just moved from Tokyo. It’s like everything just followed him and established itself there as if he’d never moved.  
  
Ryuji’s bedroom is pretty small. One single bed with a Red Ranger duvet and an extra futon tucked under the bed. His desk has a lot of mini figurines from various anime and NHK capsule toys. His textbooks are arranged messily on the floor beside the desk and the ones at the bottom are so ignored there’s dust on them. His bag sits near the door and his wardrobe has open drawers with sleeves and pant legs sticking out. The only thing that’s actually tidy is his old uniform from Shujin. Folded neatly in the top drawer, like a reminder. His new uniform hangs off the side of the wardrobe with the coat hanger clinging just barely to the corner.  
  
The only window in the room looks over the neighbourhood from the second floor and the door is ajar so Akira can hear Ryuji’s raised voice. Someone pissed him off.  
  
Akira’s limbs don’t feel quite so heavy as he gets up and whilst his head is a little fuzzy, it’s nothing he can’t handle as he gets up and heads out into the narrow hallway that leads to the stairs, where Ryuji’s voice is louder and joined by Morgana.  
  
“-no fucking way!” Ryuji yells “Are you insane?! Why did we even bring this kid back?!”  
  
“He has the app!” Morgana argues as Akira comes down the stairs to see them in the living room “The Metaverse is alive again and if there’s any hope-”  
  
“You think HE is our hope?!” Ryuji splutters, pointing to Ishida who is sitting on the couch watching them both in equal parts fear and fascination.  
  
“He’s as good as we got right now!” Morgana screams “He’s the only link we have right now!”  
  
Ryuji opens his mouth to say something else when he notices Akira at the door. His eyes switch from angry to deeply apologetic and surprised at once.  
  
“Shit man,” he says, coming up to Akira’s side “Sorry! Did we wake you?”  
  
Akira shakes his head. It’s a lie but Ryuji looks like he feels bad enough. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and looks at them. Morgana is standing on the coffee table, Ishida is on the couch and Ryuji hovers near him.  
  
“Akechi?” he asks.  
  
“He went outside for some air,” Ryuji shrugs and sticks his hands in his pockets to stop himself fidgeting “We called the others. Yusuke and Ann are on their way here now, Futaba says she’s more useful in Tokyo for the time being and Makoto and Haru can’t get here until tomorrow. They’ve got entrance ceremonies to deal with.”  
  
Morgana hops off the coffee table and settles himself on the armrest next to Ishida. He licks his paw and hums “It must be difficult. Their lives are in Tokyo, I’m not sure we can call them to help us with this.”  
  
Akira glances down the hallway to the backdoor. It’s glass and he can see Akechi sitting on the garden chair near the tiny garden Ryuji’s mother keeps. He recognises Akechi’s dejected form immediately and turns back to the others.  
  
“Yeah,” Morgana says, noticing where Akira’s concern had gone “He’s been out there ever since we told him the Metaverse was up again.”  
  
“It’s been hours but I can’t get him to come in,” Ryuji folds his arms and shoots Akira a look “We found you yesterday. After you came out of...wherever you were with Morgana and that shit there,” he nods to Ishida who shrinks in the couch “You kind of collapsed and we couldn’t wake you up so I brought you here. Morgana told us what happened with the castle, we filled him in on the shooting.”  
  
“I can’t believe you ran back into the school for your bag after the shooting!” Morgana scolds Akira “Are you an idiot?”  
  
“Hey, if you hadn’t gone and gotten yourself kidnapped, the police wouldn’t have arrested Akira when they did!” Ryuji snaps, irritated.  
  
“That wasn’t my fault!” Morgana screeches.  
  
“I’m sorry about the kidnapping!” Ishida says as if he’s said it a million times already “But isn’t it better I got you out of there? You could have been in real danger if I’d left you there. What if the killer had come back?”  
  
Morgana glares at him “You said he wasn’t likely to anyway, that’s why you went back for your bag and me!”  
  
Ishida folds his arms and Ryuji makes this noise like he really can’t be assed dealing with this. He’s been dealing with it all night.  
  
“When are the others getting here?” Akira finally asks. They’ll have to deal with Ishida eventually, but not on their own. This is something the whole group has to deal with.  
  
Ryuji checks the clock on the wall “Shouldn’t be long now, I called them last night.”  
  
Akira nods and glances at the back door again. Akechi hasn’t moved. He doesn’t seem to have noticed anything going on in the house either, his back is facing the door.  
  
“Maybe you should talk to him,” Ryuji suggests reluctantly “He won’t listen to me.”  
  
Morgana doesn’t say anything. He continues cleaning himself and Ishida eyes him curiously.  
  
“For a thing that says it’s not a cat, you have some interesting cat habits,” he points out “If you were human, would you really lick yourself clean like that?”  
  
“Right!?” Ryuji agrees immediately and it’s very different to the annoyance he’d been showing Ishida before. This is almost friendly. “He’s totally a cat, right?!”  
  
“I’m not a cat!” Morgana protests and Akira decides to leave them be.  
  
He heads towards the backdoor instead and opens the glass door. It creaks as he comes outside to the cooling air and Akechi looks up from where he’d been sitting. He watches Akira close the door again and turns his gaze back to the garden.  
  
“Sakamoto’s mother is growing tomatoes,” he states blandly “If she doesn’t harvest them soon though, they’re going to shrivel up and die.”  
  
Akira sits down on the wooden veranda and looks at the garden. It’s small, just barely enough space to grow a couple of vegetables. Haru would probably appreciate it though.  
  
He turns his gaze to Akechi and recognises the troubled look on the other. Ever since he came back, Akechi hasn’t bothered being his fake self with them. Not really. When he first met them, he’d been courteous, polite, even idol-like. His fake mask had completely covered his true nature and most of Japan had been fooled.  
  
But Akira and the Phantom Thieves have already seen him lose it. They’ve already seen the other side of him and it’s dark. It’s merciless and even cruel, desperate for acceptance, a place in the world. It reveals the true extent of his loneliness and madness and he hasn’t made any effort to disguise that from them.  
  
The only time he shows that fake side of himself is when he’s talking to strangers, which was how he managed to charm the entire class, including Kojima, into loving him.  
  
Strange that they can all love him, they can all want him and yet their love and acceptance is not the kind that Akechi really needs. He’s scarred by what both his parents had done to him and although he doesn’t go around showing his scars to everyone, they’re there. Subtle, silent. Like a broken vase that’s been glued together, the cracks show under harsh light of scrutiny and reveal that although he’s picked himself up again, he’s never going to be completely alright.  
  
He’d been so certain that the Metaverse was gone. Or perhaps it was that he’d been desperately hoping the Metaverse was gone.  
  
“Morgana told me,” Akechi says, his hands not quite still where they’re perched on his lap. If they want to shake, he’s stopping them through sheer force of will. “The Metaverse is…” he pauses “...alive.”  
  
It’s probably the right wording as one can’t really say it was ever ‘closed’. It wasn’t closed, it had collapsed. It had been destroyed. It wasn’t like someone had closed the door, they’d demolished the whole damn building and now it was back and nobody could make sense of it.  
  
Akira doesn’t say anything. He senses that Akechi doesn’t need him to. Whatever’s going on in his head, Akechi will let it out if he has to. Everything else, he’ll keep silent. He’s a lot like Akira in that he won’t tell people things he doesn’t need to. The fact that Akechi hadn’t said anything to Morgana or Ryuji tells Akira that he’d been waiting for him.  
  
“I can’t do this,” Akechi admits quietly “I can’t go back in there and you shouldn’t let me. You should have killed me back there, I would have.”  
  
But Akira didn’t and he knows why. He has more faith in Akechi than the boy himself does.  
  
“How can you trust me?” Akechi questions, finally lifting his eyes from the tomatoes to Akira instead. His dark eyes are curious and Akira suspects only he can catch the torment in them. “After what I did.”  
  
Akira holds his gaze with his own, firm and resolved. This is probably the one matter in which he’ll never falter, his convictions regarding this are strong.  
  
“You’re not the same person you were before,” Akira reminds him “The person you were before doesn’t exist anymore.”  
  
Akechi doesn’t look like he believes him but he looks like he wants to. He huffs and shakes his head “I need to take up smoking,” he mutters darkly and turns his eyes back to the tomatoes. As if looking at vegetables is easier than dealing with the strong resolve in Akira’s eyes.  
  
“Everyone in your group, they joined the Phantom Thieves out of circumstance and a resolve to fix the wrong happening to them,” Akechi continues “Sakamoto, when he saw the torture the volleyball students were going through, created a deal with his persona out of a strong need to stand up against Kamoshida. Takamaki was the same, after witnessing Kamoshida’s abuse and the consequences on her friend and herself, she turned to her persona and grew powerful for it. Kitagawa had no choice but to take down Madarame after he learnt what the other had done to him, Nijima had to fight back against Kaneshiro when he threatened her very life. Sakura had her own demons with her mother and finally Okumura was determined to save her father. There was always a reason and those goals aligned with your own...what are mine?”  
  
Akechi picks at his pant leg and frowns “Why should I join the Phantom Thieves?”  
  
“Because I need you,” Akira says and the answer came out of him before he even had time to think about it. He knows it was the truth but possibly too much truth.  
  
Indeed, the blunt confession makes Akechi’s head snap up from the tomatoes. He stares at Akira and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking for once.  
  
Ann’s voice breaks the moment and Akira looks up to see her in the house. She and Yusuke come in through the front door and she starts telling Ryuji about how there are no trains in this town, only busses and it’s nothing like Tokyo and they had to walk all the way here and her feet hurt.  
  
“Where’s Akira?” Ann asks as she disappears into the living room with Ryuji and Yusuke.  
  
“Better go in,” Akechi advises and there’s something missing in his tone. Like he’s disappointed, like he’d wanted to say something.  
  
Akira nods and gets up onto his feet. He dusts himself down and heads back inside where Ann immediately bowls him over in a hug the second he walks into the living room. Over her shoulder, Akira can see Yusuke eyeing Ishida warily.  
  
Ann pulls back, her big blue eyes are glittering with happy tears and the smile on her beautiful face is as bright as ever. From her blonde pigtails to her red sneakers, she hasn’t changed a bit.  
  
“I’ve missed you so much!” she says as she drags Akira in to sit down with her on the couch “They put this new guy in your desk and it just doesn’t feel the same.”  
  
Akira can’t help the grin that naturally appears on his face and he shakes his head as Morgana hops away from Ishida and jumps up onto Ann’s lap.  
  
“Lady Ann!” he purrs “I’ve missed you.”  
  
“This town is a veritable canvas,” Yusuke states, impressed “A stark difference from the loud and crowded Tokyo. It presents a very different way of life.”  
  
“Dude, it’s still Japan,” Ryuji folds his arms “And anyway, now that most of us are here - and I’m pretty sure Haru, Makoto and Futaba will side with whatever we decide - we oughta figure out what to do with this guy.”  
  
He nods to Ishida who sits up and smiles at both Ann and Yusuke.  
  
“I’m Ishida Hikaru,” he introduces himself. Akira can catch the barely restrained excitement in his eyes as he realises he’s in a room with the founders of the Phantom Thieves “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you guys!”  
  
Ann doesn’t look like she knows quite what to say to that but Yusuke studies Ishida closely, pulls back and hums as if he’s made a discovery “It’s Mishima part two,” he states, causing Ryuji to crack up laughing.  
  
“Right?! You saw it too!” he chirps happily and throws his arm around Yusuke’s shoulders. Maybe he’ll never say it, but Akira knows Ryuji actually missed Yusuke and Ann.  
  
“More to the point,” Ann cuts in with a semi-scolding look at Ishida “What were you thinking? Kidnapping Morgana, do you know how worried we were?!”  
  
Morgana beams, his eyes sparkling up at Ann from where he sits on her lap.  
  
“You were?” he squeaks happily.  
  
Ishida looks appropriately apologetic and bows a little where he sits “I’m sorry,” he mumbles “It’s just...you guys are all so cool. I idolise you, I have all the Phantom Thief goods that were ever sold, I never stopped believing in you. I even signed in to different computers just so I could vote again on the Phan-site to say I still believed in you.”  
  
Ann doesn’t know whether to be flattered or creeped out. She glances at Ryuji, who raises an eyebrow at Ishida.  
  
“Dude,” he mutters.  
  
“Now to be in a room with the actual thieves…” Ishida sighs happily and turns to Akira “You. I idolised you the most. I didn’t find out until really recently who you were though, Mishima wouldn’t tell me anything until he knew he could trust me as a fellow fan.”  
  
“Mishima…” Ryuji scowls under his breath.  
  
“The real point is that he has the Metaverse app on his phone,” Morgana explains with a pointed look at Ishida “Nevermind that we don’t know how the Metaverse is still there, he has the app and can get in. He has already discovered a castle.”  
  
“I’m more concerned with the Metaverse being there again,” Yusuke cuts in with a frown, he folds his arms “We destroyed it. We saw it disappear.”  
  
“I know and we don’t have answers to that,” Morgana sighs “I really wish we did, but I can’t explain it. I didn’t even know about it until Ishida took me there.”  
  
Akira thinks about Lavenza and Igor. He can’t say anything. It’s not that his friends don’t remember them - they probably do - but not even Lavenza and Igor had the answers this time. All they seemed to know was that something bad was going to happen and that the Metaverse’s very existence meant that someone...something very powerful had brought it back.  
  
Something more powerful than Yaldabaoth. He can’t tell them that. He’s barely coming to terms with it himself.  
  
“If there’s a castle here then we can work out the details later,” Ann says in her usual optimistic way “We can’t ignore it. Not when we’re the ones who can stop it. If this guy has a castle, it means he’s hurting others.”  
  
“True,” Ryuji agrees “There’s also the problem of the other Phantom Thieves. The fake ones.”  
  
“Unforgivable,” Yusuke mutters darkly “Something must be done about them.”  
  
“Then there’s…” Morgana turns to Ishida “If he has the app, it means he has the potential but he has yet to turn into a full thief himself. We can’t ignore him, he has the ability to go in with or without us and if he goes in without us - he’s going to get himself killed.”  
  
“Pain in the ass,” Ryuji winces and shakes his head “But fine. Kid can come along with us.’  
  
Yusuke looks at Ryuji “Is that his codename?”  
  
“You guys use CODENAMES!?” Ishida’s eyes grow so wide it’s a wonder they’re still in his head “REALLY?! DO I GET ONE? CAN I CHOOSE IT? I WANNA BE ROBIN!”  
  
Ryuji shoots Akira a suffering look but says nothing. Instead he huffs and shakes his head “Anyway, I’m starving. Akira hasn’t been awake that long but he hasn’t eaten since lunch yesterday so...let’s go out to eat.”  
  
“I wonder if the food here is any different…” Yusuke hums.  
  
“We’re still in Japan,” Ryuji reminds him dryly. He turns to Akira “Any luck with uh…” he nods to the back door where Akechi is still in the garden.  
  
“Give him time,” Akira advises.  
  
Ryuji hums “He doesn’t look like he’s up to going anywhere. I’ll take Yusuke with me and get some food to bring back here.”  
  
“Ooh!” Morgana perks up “Sushi! Bring back some sushi!”  
  
“Dude, I’m not that rich,” Ryuji complains.  
  
Ann gets up to settle the money issue and as they do, Akira looks at Ishida. He reminds him a lot of Mishima and unlike Akechi - where his kind, smiling face was a flat out lie - Ishida doesn’t let off that sort of vibe at all. Instead he’s pretty shallow. What they see there is essentially what he is. A raving fan of the Phantom Thieves, especially of Akira himself. There might be more to him later but for now, that’s pretty much him and Akira knows there’s nothing suspicious about him. He’s not like Akechi and he’s not desperate for acknowledgement like Mishima. Instead he’s naive and almost childish despite being in the same year.  
  
“Okay,” Ann sighs, handing money to Ryuji and shooing him off to the door “Go find some food then, I’m going to talk to Akechi.”  
  
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Ryuji frowns “No offense but since he’s come back, he seems to have only warmed up to our leader. If Akira can’t get him to come back inside, then what chance do you-”  
  
“Never underestimate my acting and charm,” Ann winks at him with a flick of her blonde hair “I’ll get him inside.”  
  
Yusuke raises a single eyebrow but says nothing as he nods to Ryuji and heads out. Ryuji shoots one last worried look at Ann but walks out as well. Akira watches as Ann beams and heads to the backdoor with a skip in her step. She approaches Akechi and Akira hums to himself.  
  
If her acting and charm is anything like the shit she pulled on Yusuke when she was trying to charm him into Madarame’s locked room, they might have to think of a Plan C.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuji lifts his hands in the air and stretches his arms with a long, loud groan. The warmth of the sun is welcome and so is the light breeze.  
  
It’s strange. He had to get used to it here after living all his life in Tokyo. He’s used to busy streets, crowded train rides and at least one transfer to school but over here it’s not the same. Yes, it’s still Japan but it’s totally different being in a smaller town. He walks everywhere, the shops actually have closing times, there’s not much of a nightlife. It makes Yongenjaya look lively.  
  
He feels Yusuke’s eyes on him as he steps out onto the footpath and starts walking to the nearest supermarket.  
  
“I hate being cooped up,” he feels the need to explain “The fresh air is so good too, I was going crazy in there with that Ishida kid.”  
  
Yusuke chuckles softly and shakes his head, silky blue hair tousling slightly from the breeze “He did seem to annoy you. Imitation is supposed to be the highest form of flattery.”  
  
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Ryuji mutters with a side glance at Yusuke “Besides, it’s not me he’s copying, it’s our leader. If he comes back tomorrow with a different pair of glasses and curly black hair, that’s when we’re kicking him out.”  
  
“Agreed,” Yusuke hums and it’s the best thing Ryuji’s heard all morning. Everyone’s gone crazy with ideas of keeping Ishida in the group - all because some app chose him - but the truth is that Ryuji isn’t comfortable with that kid. No matter how harmless he appears and he isn’t happy with Morgana pushing the idea that Ishida has to stay.  
  
Yusuke is the first person to vocally agree with him, even Akechi didn’t say anything - though he didn’t stick around once he learnt the Metaverse was back.  
  
“So,” Ryuji hums and sticks his hands in his pockets, he shoots Yusuke a grin over his shoulder “Do ya miss me? Tokyo can’t be the same without me!”  
  
Yusuke falters for just a moment and Ryuji doesn’t catch it, the way Yusuke’s honest emotions appear in his eyes for the quickest of seconds before he hides it and clears his throat indignantly. He huffs “If I wasn’t already aware that Persona-users cannot have castles, I’d believe you have one with the size of your ego.”  
  
“Admit it,” Ryuji sings “It’s just not the same! Besides, you’re the only dude in a group of chicks there. Ann, Makoto, Haru...seriously man, that’s just sad.”  
  
Yusuke levels him with a slightly annoyed look “It’s not my fault you decided to follow our leader out here. Nobody told you to.”  
  
“I was never going to leave him alone here,” Ryuji points out “Besides, with the shit that’s going on now, aren’t you glad I came here?”  
  
Yusuke mutters something Ryuji can’t hear but that’s not important as Ryuji looks down the road and sees a yellow bike coming towards them at alarming speed. He holds his arm out instinctively, stopping Yusuke from walking as the bike hurtles down the road. The person on the bike is screaming as it shoots right past both of them and crashes loudly in the trash cans down the road.  
  
“Shit,” Ryuji yelps, running after the crash with Yusuke close behind him.  
  
When they get to the crash, the bike is on the road with the wheels still spinning. The passenger of the bike, however, is stuck in a silver trash can, his legs stick out and kick helplessly.  
  
“H-help!” he yelps “Someone!”  
  
Ryuji leans down and grabs his legs whilst Yusuke jumps around to get the bin. The guy is really stuck in there and Ryuji has to pull. “Hold on,” he chirps, holding in his amusement as he pulls on one side, Yusuke pulls on the bin and when it comes loose, the guy falls out easily.  
  
Ryuji pulls him up onto his feet and studies him. This guy is easily older than both of them. Early twenties perhaps. His light brown locks are all over the place (though that may have been because of the bin) and his eyes are wide as he swipes a banana peel off his forehead. Ryuji eyes the orange shirt with big white letters reading ‘FEVER’ sideways, the orange sneakers and red headphones over the back of his neck.  
  
“Are you alright?” Yusuke asks with concern as he comes around to Ryuji’s side and analyses the man.  
  
“Me?” the man laughs and flicks something brown off his shoulder “Yeah, I’ve run my bike into trash cans so many times it’s embarrassing...I really should get a new bike.”  
  
Ryuji exchanges a wary glance at Yusuke but the man seems more or less alright. He reaches over and pulls another banana peel off his arm “Uh, don’t mind me askin’ but you were tearing down the road - like you were runnin’ from something. You’re not in trouble are you?”  
  
“In trouble?” the man blinks “I hope not! That’s all I need…”  
  
He picks his bike back up and checks over it before turning to Ryuji and Yusuke with a smile “Say, you guys wouldn’t happen to be hungry, would ya?”  
  
* * *  
  
Through some sort of miracle, Ann manages to talk Akechi back into the house. He follows her into the living room and sits in an armchair as Ann brings him water with a near-triumphant grin. Akira doesn’t know if it was actually her or because Akechi was going to come in either way but he’s impressed anyway.  
  
“Ryuji and Yusuke have gone to get food,” Morgana explains “I don’t know your take on it, but for now at least, Ishida will have to stay with us as a new Phantom Thief. Better that than him getting himself in trouble by going in alone.”  
  
Akechi shakes his head but says nothing in protest. Akira watches as the other keeps his eyes down on his lap. He won’t even look at anyone.  
  
“Anyway,” Ann breaks the silence and sits down “All awkwardness aside, so long as you’re careful, you should be alright,” she says to Ishida and if she finds him creepy or anything, she seems to have already accepted it because her smile is nothing but friendly.  
  
“I’ll do everything you say!” Ishida promises and Akira can’t tell if that’s because she’s a Phantom Thief and he idolises her or if it’s just her. Ann may be kind of crap at acting - really - but she does have a charm that makes people like her.  
  
Akechi is quiet. It’s unlike him - especially in front of a stranger where he should normally turn on his fake and friendly self. But he just can’t seem to be bothered. Akira notes as well, with a touch of worry, that Akechi is specifically avoiding looking at him. His eyes flick up every now and then, at Morgana, Ann and even Ishida but he won’t look at Akira.  
  
Before long, the door opens again as Ryuji and Yusuke come back in with bags and bags of food.  
  
“We bumped into this guy who shouted us food,” Ryuji explains happily as he sets the food down on the coffee table.  
  
“He ran his bike into the trash cans,” Yusuke adds dryly but even he seems fairly happy with the deal they brought back.  
  
Ann gasps “Oh my god, you brought cake!”  
  
“Yeah,” Ryuji laughs as he hands the small container to her “Thought that would make you happy.”  
  
Ann makes this strange happy squealing noise and settles into her food as Ryuji spreads the rest of it out on the coffee table and goes to get plates. Akira leans over and grabs a sandwich container. On the front is a sticker with the word ‘JUNES’ splashed across and he picks at it as he glances over at Akechi.  
  
The other still isn’t looking at him. He isn’t reaching for any food either.  
  
“So,” Morgana says once almost everyone is settled with food “After this, we should start by checking out that castle. Futaba is gathering information on the owner, Minagawa, but we should at least get a start by figuring out what we’re dealing with. From what I saw, it was some sort of excavation site.”  
  
“Kid,” Ryuji mumbles with a mouth full of food as he looks at Ishida “You’ve been here longer. What’s Minagawa like?”  
  
“Eww Ryuji…” Ann winces at the sight of food in his mouth.  
  
Ishida pauses with his riceball in his hands and hums “Minagawa is the history teacher. He’s apparently pretty famous in some circles. He discovered something a few years back, a fossil they called the Mega...something.”  
  
“Megalan,” Akechi mutters boredly.  
  
“Yes, the Megalan,” Ishida bounces “I don’t know what that is but apparently it was super hard to find and lots of people were looking for it. I heard some people even died in the excavation site trying to get to it. Anyway, Minagawa found it and brought it back to the surface. It’s in a museum in Osaka now.”  
  
“Akechi-kun,” Ann blinks “You seem to know a bit about it.”  
  
“No,” Akechi hums, still nowhere near his snarky or kind self. This is a strange in between that none of them are used to. A new side of him that is neither nasty or nice. “The Megalan was the subject of a robbery two years ago. I helped police track it down.”  
  
Akira distantly wonders if Akechi had tampered with that case but he knows better than to remind the other that he was actually a bastard once.  
  
Ryuji raises his eyebrow “All that fuss for a fossil?”  
  
“History is important,” Yusuke points out indignantly “Not to mention that the Megalan isn’t just a fossil, it’s a piece of art. One of the most beautiful pieces of the Sengoku Period.”  
  
“Anyway,” Morgana pipes up and looks at Ishida “Minagawa?”  
  
“Yeah, that discovery made him famous,” Ishida continues as he finishes his riceball and puts the wrapper down “As a history teacher though, he’s pretty harsh. I’ve been at the end of his anger a lot of times, he doesn’t tend to like me. He’s a hard grader and he prefers a quiet classroom. Nothing pisses him off more than someone talking and he’s been known to throw his chalk at students.”  
  
Ryuji snorts “That’s normal,” he points out “But if Minagawa has a castle, there’s gotta be something off with him. Are there any rumours amongst the students about him? When it was Kamoshida, he had plenty of rumours. But the thing was that he used to be an Olympic athlete. He couldn’t let go of his past and that was what warped him.”  
  
“Minagawa-sensei seems to hate students but as far as rumours go, he’s not usually a part of them,” Ishida frowns “If anything, they talk about Akechi-kun now more than anyone else.”  
  
Akechi shifts uneasily in his chair but he doesn’t say anything. The reminder that he’s the source of rumours - particularly amongst girls - makes Akira shift in his chair too.  
  
Morgana hums in thought “Maybe we’ll get a clearer picture of that inside his castle. If it’s an excavation site, it means that he thinks of the school as an excavation site. We’ll have to take a look around and try not to be noticed.”  
  
They finish their food and as they get up and get ready to go into the app, Akechi finally speaks up.  
  
“I’m not joining you guys,” he announces and heads for the door. Akira runs after him and grabs his arm to stop him.  
  
“Kurusu,” Akechi warns as he turns to look at him “I’m not going in there.”  
  
“Are you okay, Akechi-kun?” Ann asks, big blue eyes full of concern.  
  
“I’m fine I just…” Akechi shakes his head and Akira doesn’t understand. Akechi had been all for solving this, for poking around, asking questions, getting to the bottom of these fake Phantom Thieves but at the first sign of the real Metaverse, he runs.  
  
“Just don’t get hurt,” Akechi says so quietly nobody but Akira can hear him before he shakes Akira’s hand off and leaves the house through the front door.  
  
Akira doesn’t understand. He gets that Akechi has a complicated relationship with the Metaverse and his own Personas in particular but it’s not like he’s going to lose his head and turn on them the second he puts that mask on again. Akechi doesn’t make any sense and it’s a surprise because up until now, Akira could read him so well.  
  
He was the only person who could.  
  
“Hey,” Ryuji says, breaking him out of his thoughts “He’ll be alright. Come on, let’s do this.”  
  
“I’d feel a lot easier if we had the rest of our group with us,” Morgana mutters as he jumps up onto Akira’s shoulder “But Makoto and Haru have university classes I suppose.”  
  
“We’re just going in to take a look around,” Ann reminds him “We have to be careful with Ishida around. If we get into fights, he can’t defend himself.”  
  
“I’d like to try though!” Ishida points out enthusiastically.  
  
Ryuji shoots an annoyed look at Yusuke and sighs “Alright, someone get out the nav.”  
  
Ishida pulls his phone out and says the keywords. As the world starts shifting and blending into the Metaverse, Akira thinks about Akechi. His new and withdrawn behaviour upon learning of the rebirth of the Metaverse. He thinks about the Velvet Room and wonders if the person Lavenza and Igor were waiting for was in fact Akechi himself.  
  
The shift of reality soon ends when his feet touch the hot sand and when he opens his eyes, the first thing he hears is Ann’s shriek.  
  
“We should have done this outside! I’m in my socks!” she screams and whacks Ryuji for the hell of it.  
  
“Hey!” Ryuji protests” I’m not the one who just turned on the app right away!”  
  
“You told me to!” Ishida squeaks.  
  
Yusuke looks down and hums “There’s sand between my toes,” he mutters “...it’s unpleasant.”  
  
“Will you all be quiet!” Morgana snaps. He jumps off Akira’s shoulder and lands on his two feet again, his Metaverse form has returned to him again. “Your shouting could be attracting enemies from all over. And anyway, we’re far away from the actual excavation site it seems. So!”  
  
He jumps high into the air and the group jump back as the bus lands back down on the sand. Nothing has changed there.  
  
Morgana purrs and bounces slightly “Everyone in!”  
  
Akira ends up driving again. Yusuke takes the passenger seat beside him whilst Ann and Ryuji argue in the back with Ishida still looking so fascinated with all of this. As Akira drives, he feels a slight sense of deja-vu. The desert is sweltering, he can already feel the sweat dripping down his back.  
  
Beside him, Yusuke groans “Morgana, don’t you have air conditioning?”  
  
“You asked that last time,” Morgana reminds him “The answer is still no.”  
  
Akira can see Ryuji and Ann arguing through the rear view mirror and it’s extremely familiar. It’s comforting too, like the foundations of his group are together again and it wouldn’t be the same without Ryuji and Ann arguing, Yusuke making dry, blunt remarks and Akira silently questioning his life choices.  
  
Ishida climbs up to sit at the back of the front seats “Are they always like that?”  
  
“Always,” Yusuke sighs and leans back in his seat “I just realised that was what was missing in Tokyo. Things were too quiet and Ann doesn’t argue with the others. Especially now that Haru and Makoto aren’t even in Shujin anymore.”  
  
Ryuji had said that Ann had her friends but she actually didn’t. Akira wonders if she’d been lonelier than they thought she was.  
  
“What are they arguing about?” Yusuke asks “I’m too tired to listen.”  
  
“Something about the last time they were in this van on a hot desert,” Ishida shrugs “What happened?”  
  
Yusuke hums and Akira clears his throat awkwardly. Ishida will probably learn, really fast too, how unaware Ann is when she’s around guys like Ryuji who tend to stare. That time during the fireworks that she pulled her kimono up to wring the water out, or the time she was pulling her shirt away from her chest and unwittingly exposed her bra, whilst there’s nothing wrong with it, Ann doesn’t seem to realise the effect she has on guys around her.  
  
Yusuke explains to Ishida how they take out shadows and what a Persona is and as he does, Akira is left to his thoughts. They travel back - as they frequently do recently - to Akechi.  
  
Seriously, what is up with him? His avoidant manner isn’t something Akira has ever had to deal with before. He’s seen Akechi fake, he’s seen him psychotic, he’s even seen real glimpses of his lonely self and it’s those moments when Akechi talks. When he tells Akira about his mother or he tells him about how in reality, really, nobody seems to want him around. Not really.  
  
It bothers Akira. More than he suspects it should. If Ryuji one day came up to him and started saying the same things Akechi said, started suffering the same way Akechi had, of course Akira would be concerned and would do everything in his power to help...but the thought of Ryuji’s suffering wouldn’t make him ache like there’s a hole in his chest.  
  
No. Only Akechi seems to have that effect on him.  
  
“There!” Ishida jumps, jolting Akira out of his thoughts and back onto his driving.  
  
Through the desert, they’re approaching several man-made squares and it’s the excavation site he saw before. He drives close enough and pulls over, all thoughts of Akechi moving to the back of his head as he focuses on the task at hand.  
  
“Interesting,” Morgana says once he’s a cat again and everyone is out of him “I’ve never been to an excavation site before.”  
  
“Me neither,” Ryuji shrugs “But we’re still in our normal clothes. That means Minagawa doesn’t view us as a threat yet, right?”  
  
“Pretty much,” Morgana hums “That might change the second we get really close to the site though, so stay on your guard.”  
  
“Are excavation sites usually this huge?” Ann asks. The group approach and the closer they get to it, the more obvious it is that those man made squares are hiding huge holes underneath. Massive caverns dug out by machines and shovels.  
  
“It’s the size of the school,” Morgana reminds her “Plus it’s cognitive. Technically, it could be as large as Minagawa wants it to be.”  
  
Ishida is alert, looking around as the group get closer to the site. The cavern in the ground is much, much larger than it initially appears to be. Stretching out into an enormous hole the size of the school and covered by a long stretch of plastic. It goes in deep, a slope that bends down into an enormous cavern. Even deeper and it starts splitting off into different directions, a full on cave, lit with candles fixed into the walls.  
  
Akira takes one step onto the main ground and feels the familiar whoosh of his clothes changing. The mask sets itself back over his eyes and sure enough, when he looks down, he is greeted with his trenchcoat, gloves over his hands and boots. He glances back to see the rest of his team, except for Ishida, back in their outfits as well.  
  
“Wow,” Ishida gasps “It’s the Phantom Thieves. The REAL Phantom Thieves!”  
  
“Don’t get yourself hurt, kid,” Ryuji mutters as he swings his bludgeon around in his hand “Guess this means Minagawa’s aware of us.”  
  
“We changed the second we arrived on the actual site,” Morgana hums thoughtfully “That means his consciousness, the part he’s wary and protective about is here. It won’t be wise to go too deep, we don’t know what we’re up against and…” he looks at Ishida “...we should just get a scope of what we’re dealing with here.”  
  
“Stay close to us,” Ann advises Ishida.  
  
They walk together with Ishida behind them. Akira takes note of the diamonds and gems stuck into the walls, the bones on the ground and pauses when the cavern splits out in three different directions.  
  
“Shit,” Ryuji mutters beside him “Any idea where we’re going, leader?”  
  
Akira thinks that Futaba might be useful here after all. He looks over the three pathways. Left, center and right. They all look the same and there’s no way to tell which way might be better.  
  
“Start there,” he points to the center route and turns to look at the others “We’ll need a way to keep from getting lost.”  
  
“Breadcrumbs?” Ishida suggests brightly.  
  
“What do you think this is? Hansel and Gretel?” Ryuji scoffs “We can’t leave breadcrumbs out!”  
  
Ann rolls her eyes and looks around “We don’t even have breadcrumbs anyway. Or anything else that can be used as a tracker so we’re just going to have to be mindful of where we’re going and where we’ve been.”  
  
“Perhaps there is a map somewhere,” Yusuke suggests “We never had to leave a trail behind in any other castle. If this is truly the same Metaverse and the same rules for castles, we should be relatively safe walking in.”  
  
Akira takes the lead, walking in with Ryuji close behind him. Ann and Yusuke follow with Morgana keeping an eye on Ishida at the back.  
  
The corridor walls are made entirely of dirt. As they walk, Ryuji hums.  
  
“Does anyone else find it weird that there’s diamonds and shit in the dirt?” he asks “I mean, this is an excavation site, doesn’t that mean it’s meant to pick out things like this?”  
  
“Not all excavation sites are intended for discovering treasure,” Yusuke points out calmly “But you’re right, it is unusual. Even if this site was created for research purposes, you’d think they’d pick out the gems.”  
  
Morgana makes this noise he makes near shiny things. He bounces “So people at excavation sites...they’re basically thieves?”  
  
Yusuke huffs “Licensed thieves perhaps.”  
  
Akira hears something ahead and glances at Ryuji. The other nods.  
  
“Shadows,” he hums “Kid, stay back.”  
  
Picking up his pace, Akira heads to the first turn and peers over the corner. Up ahead, he can see three of them, three shadows dressed like guards. Their red eyes peer out from under their dark hats, they’re armed with batons and they’re only a little taller than Akira himself.  
  
“Low level guards,” Ryuji hums quietly.  
  
“They’re standing in front of something,” Morgana points out “Look. That thing behind them.”  
  
It’s hard to tell from this vantagepoint. But Akira squints as the world turns dark and his focus centers on the thing behind the guards. It’s glowing and he was expecting something square or circle, something like all the other treasures he usually picks up but this is shaped like a human. Not much larger than Futaba.  
  
“We’ll have to get through those guards,” Ryuji mutters as Akira pulls his focus out and shakes his head.  
  
“Right,” Ann whispers.  
  
“Skull, Panther, Mona with me,” Akira orders “Fox and…Kid,” he glances back at Ishida “Stay back.”  
  
“I get to see the Phantom Thieves in action,” Ishida gushes quietly “So cool!”  
  
“Ugh,” Ryuji mutters darkly.  
  
Akira rushes ahead and the second the shadows notice him, the atmosphere changes as it always does. It’s the area Akira knows best and it’s the one he loves most.  
  
Though he doesn’t talk about it. Not to Morgana, not to Ann and especially not to Ryuji. He knows this area the most. Arsene rises from him as though he never left and Akira can’t help but smirk confidently when he hears his maniacal laugh in his mind. He loves the power he feels rushing through him.  
  
_“You’ve kept me away long enough, haven’t you?”_ Arsene croons like an echo in his mind _“Ready to renew your contract?”_  
  
At his side, Ann, Morgana and Ryuji are joined by their Personas. He catches the fire in their eyes, the intent, better than anyone else ever could. The adrenaline rushes through Akira’s blood, fast and hot like he never left the Metaverse and he can feel Arsene’s pull on him as his gun returns to his hand and his arm, steady as ever, points it at the shadows.  
  
“Count down from ten!” Ryuji shouts “Because that’s how long you have left!”  
  
It’s over in a whirl of hits and shots. Easy first enemies and it ultimately tells Akira that whatever they were guarding was important enough to need guards, but not important enough to need strong ones. When they drop, Akira races past them and stops when he sees what they were guarding.  
  
It’s a student.  
  
He stands, just about the same size as Ishida. Around his neck are three gold medals, each for track competitions. His eyes are wide, hair dark like Akira’s and curly. He wears the PE Uniform of Shinsou Academy and around his neck is a collar.  
  
_‘Property of Shion Minagawa.’_  
  
Ishida nearly stumbles when he sees the boy “Yuya,” he croaks.  
  
“You know this kid?” Ryuji asks and comes closer to inspect him “Is it a kid or a statue?”  
  
“He glows…” Ann breathes “Like someone polished him.”  
  
“His name is Yuya,” Ishida explains and there’s a new tone to his voice. It’s not his usual jumped up excitement, it’s...disturbed. “Namigawa Yuya. He’s the current star of the track team.”  
  
“Property of Minagawa?” Yusuke picks at the collar and frowns “Why would he be…”  
  
Ishida chokes and Akira looks at him. He’s shivering now, smaller now that his head is bowed and his body hunched over. Ryuji is the first one to his side, he grabs his shoulder and keeps him from falling over completely.  
  
“Oy,” Ryuji holds him up “Kid, what’s going on with this?”  
  
“I can’t…” Ishida begs and shakes his head “Please. Can we go? I can’t look at him.”  
  
“Why is he property of Minagawa?” Yusuke asks “Why does he have a collar?”  
  
“Because he’s mine.”  
  
The new voice, predictably, belongs to the King. The owner of the palace and Akira knows it before he even looks up and sees the man standing not too far from them, guards on either side of him. He’s tall, covered head to toe in glittering and shimmering clothing. All golden, gaudy and extravagant. His hair is long and brown, tied back in a ponytail and his features are hard and pointy. Worst of all are his eyes, bright and set straight on the group before him.  
  
“Such vulgar display of wealth,” Yusuke growls next to Akira “Disgusting.”  
  
“Ishida,” Minagawa speaks, voice distorted and almost demonic like every king ever in the Metaverse “Didn’t I tell you that if I ever saw you again, I’d finish you off?”  
  
Ishida cowers and if Ryuji didn’t have such a tight hold on him, he’d collapse completely. He’s shaking head to toe and he’s terrified of the sight of Minagawa.  
  
“So you’re Minagawa,” Morgana huffs and jumps in front of Ishida “An excavation site, like you’re digging for gold. Students are not your treasure!”  
  
Minagawa laughs and Akira reaches forward to grab Ryuji before he decks him for it. If there’s something Ryuji can’t stand, it’s selfish adults - especially those who are in positions where they should know better, like teachers. Minagawa seems to be a perfect example of it.  
  
“Schools are full of ‘treasure’” Minagawa explains calmly “Students with talents that will one day make them famous. Where’s the harm in the teacher who raised them, the teacher they owe their lives to, profiting from that?”  
  
“You bastard!” Ann shouts at him “Those students earnt their own merit, not so you can profit from them!”  
  
“They’ll owe their fame, their lives to me,” Minagawa says “All they need is polishing, dusting and to remember, forever, that they are mine.”  
  
“You’re lying,” Ishida hisses quietly “They don’t know what you do. You rig their matches, scare their competition, cheat to make sure they win…” Ryuji helps him up properly and Ishida faces Minagawa. He’s still shaking, he’s still scared, there are tears in his eyes but he faces him regardless.  
  
“And then you make your demands. Promise them the win, the world if they do what you tell them to do. The reason why I’m the way I am is because I refused you!”  
  
“What a shame,” Minagawa taunts “The star of the baseball team. You could have gone overseas, you could have gone anywhere.”  
  
Ishida rubs at his eyes and shakes his head “I wasn’t going to be your anything when I found out what you did to make me win, you sick, perverted bastard!”  
  
“A pity,” Minagawa’s sharp eyes set on Ishida and Akira feels a familiar rush of disgust shoot through him. The way Minagawa looks at Ishida is the same way Kamoshida used to look at Ann. It’s the same way Kaneshiro used to look at money. That hunger and lust that will never be satiated and he can’t tell if Minagawa wants to bask in Ishida’s talents or if it’s something else he wanted.  
  
“Like an excavation site,” Minagawa sighs and holds his arms out to the cavern around them “Shinsou Academy is ripe with little treasures, waiting to be found, dusted and placed on my pedestal. A shame that you can’t save everyone, little Hikaru.”  
  
Ishida whimpers but it’s different this time. It’s like a pain in his gut and Akira recognises what’s going on with him. He’s seen it happen to everyone else and when Ishida writhes out of Ryuji’s hold, the blonde lets him drop to the ground and takes a step back.  
  
“Finally,” Ryuji breathes, grin broad on his face as they all stand back and watch Ishida writhe and scream.  
  
His head snaps back, Akira can see the mask on his face as Ishida’s hands come up to rip it off. He screams and drops to the ground. Then when he rises again, the mask is back in place. It’s white with horns on either side of his forehead, it’s eyes are vicious and the only other time Akira’s seen such a mask is that one time Haru took him to see kabuki.  
  
It’s the creature behind him that catches their attention, large and beautiful. It hovers over Ishida’s tiny form in an elaborate red and black kimono that glints in the light. It has a beautiful face but fierce dark eyes that peek out from under a wash of elaborate brown curls and wisps of hair tied back into a messy bun. Clearly male but with an undeniable feminine softness that mirrors Ishida’s own nature. Nine tails come out, black and long. Creating an almost peacock like wave behind it. It mirrors Ishida himself, who lost his school uniform and instead dons a silky black robe, under which is a white shirt and white pants with a red belt around his middle.  
  
He glares at Minagawa who jumps behind his guards just as Ishida pulls the gun out from his belt and aims “Burn in hell, you bastard!”  
  
Minagawa runs, he leaves two guards and Akira jumps into action quickly. He jumps beside Ishida with Ryuji and Morgana but in all honesty, all they have to do is back him up. The pure anger that comes off Ishida is more than enough to finish off the guards.  
  
There’s a grace to his Persona. Similar to that of Yusuke’s, it moves like air and dances like water, slashing its opponent with Ishida’s own element. If Ryuji harnesses the power of electricity, Ann takes fire, Yusuke is ice and Morgana harnesses the wind, then Ishida’s looks a lot like the earth itself. He pulls the ground up from under the guards and it’s enough for Ryuji to follow up with a well aimed shot.  
  
It’s over in minutes but when the guards fall, Minagawa is long gone.  
  
“Come back!” Ishida screams “Come back you coward!”  
  
His legs give out and Ryuji grabs him before he hits the ground. As he pulls him up, Akira senses the presence of more shadows further down. Security is up and they’re coming for them.  
  
“Let’s go,” Morgana says, sensing the very same.  
  
“Save your energy, Kid,” Ryuji huffs, pulling Ishida up in his arms as he takes off in a run with the others.  
  
Behind them, the golden statue remains untouched, the collar glinting under the dim light.  
  
* * *  
  
When they come back into the real world, the exhaustion hits Akira like a ton of bricks. They land back in Ryuji’s living room and beside him, Ryuji is panting and almost drops Ishida as he collapses onto the couch. Ann gasps for breath and Yusuke looks like he’s seconds from collapsing.  
  
It’s been too long since they last had to do this.  
  
“I’m stuffed,” Ryuji sighs and leans back in the couch “Holy shit, it’s like the first time.”  
  
“It’s worse than the first time,” Ann points out and curls up “My legs...I can’t move my legs.”  
  
“Exposure to the Metaverse after a long time of being away from it,” Morgana stretches his hind legs out and looks at Akira “How are you feeling?”  
  
Akira shrugs. He’s tired, but he’s not passed out like the first time. He glances over at Ishida and sure enough, the boy is already unconscious, his head on Ryuji’s stomach as Ryuji fights to stay conscious.  
  
They’re losing Yusuke on the floor.  
  
Morgana looks at Ishida and hums “We’ll have to talk about this tomorrow. I don’t think everyone is going to stay awake.”  
  
Ann’s head flops and Akira reaches over to arrange a cushion under her head so she doesn’t wake up with a sore neck. Her long blonde pigtails hang off the side of the armchair and she’s out like a light.  
  
Ryuji passes out not long after and Yusuke is still unconscious on the floor. Akira looks over his group and turns to Morgana. For once, the cat doesn’t say anything. Instead he’s just watching Ishida, tail flicking every now and then as he thinks.  
  
“The collar,” Morgana hums, his eyes dark in thought “Property of Minagawa. What do you think he asks from his students?”  
  
Akira doesn’t say anything. He already has a feeling and he hopes he’s wrong. But now that they’re out of the castle, now that they’re back in the harsh reality, there’s another worry plaguing his mind. Akechi had run out and Akira doesn’t know where he lives or where he could possibly find him. But he needs to find him.  
  
If what they’re up against is as big as he suspects it is, he can’t do this alone. None of them can. They all need Akechi.  
  
“You should sleep too,” Morgana says, cutting into Akira’s thoughts “You’re swaying.”  
  
“I’m fine,” Akira mutters and presses two fingers to the bridge of his nose. He closes his eyes but the second he does, his eyelids only get heavier. He’d forgotten how taxing going to the Metaverse could be. But he’s already been in there once, it’s easier to handle.  
  
“Joker,” Morgana speaks “Whatever pulled the Metaverse up again made it stronger than ever. That’s why you can’t stay awake, that’s why you’re more tired than you were before. You need to sit down, we’ll talk when the rest of the gang gets here.”  
  
Akira can’t. He needs to find Akechi. The only places he can think about are the cafe and his own place. Maybe Akechi is in one of those.  
  
“Look after them,” he tells Morgana and heads for the door before Morgana can protest.  
  
He doesn’t notice it until he’s out, but the day has turned into evening. The sky is just darkening as Akira pulls his shoes on and heads out onto the footpath. His legs feel heavy even as he walks and he checks his phone.  
  
**Akira:** Akechi. Where are you?  
  
Akechi doesn’t answer and Akira rubs at his eyes. They’re getting heavier and if he’s going to last going back to the Metaverse, he has to get stronger. They can’t keep collapsing after they come back, they need to get stronger.  
  
**Akira:** Talk to me.  
  
It gets darker and colder. Akira starts to feel the heavy weight on his legs as they start to drag. His eyes struggle to stay awake and he looks around. The cafe is twenty minutes away. His house is five. He rubs at his eyes and starts heading towards his house.  
  
It takes forever and every step gets harder than the last. Through sheer force of will, Akira makes it to the gate of his house and checks his phone. No answer. He somehow makes it inside and up to his bedroom.  
  
He opens the door and doesn’t bother with the lights as he drags his feet to his bed. But when he falls onto the mattress, he lands on something harder than what he expects. And it groans.  
  
“Akira,” Akechi grumbles sleepily and Akira doesn’t have enough energy to bother sitting up again, nor to really register that Akechi didn’t use his last name. He slides off Akechi and onto the small space on the mattress beside him.  
  
He can’t help but smile “Found you,” he breathes sleepily. His eyes are closed and already he knows he’s not going to open them again anytime soon.  
  
He feels Akechi move beside him, a hand perching on the space next to him as he hovers over him “Wow,” he says, Akira can feel his warm breath on his face “The Metaverse knocked you out.”  
  
Akechi gently takes Akira’s glasses off and sets them on the bedside table. He shifts and shuffles but Akira can’t be bothered opening his eyes to see what Akechi’s doing. He’s too tired. Blurry recollections of what he’s learnt today are running in his head like background noise and he can’t make sense of any of it. But Akechi’s body is warm next to him. Akira can feel his chest on his arm where the other is lying against his side, almost on his stomach.  
  
Akira can feel sleep taking him away and he’s glad at least that he found Akechi. His hand grips Akechi’s shirt and it’s a silent plea not to run away again.  
  
“You’ll be the death of me,” Akechi sighs, resigned and Akira feels the gentle weight of Akechi’s head on his shoulder as sleep shuts him down.  
  
* * *  
  
The music wakes him up again and as that lofty, eerie feeling returns to his body, he opens his eyes and sits up slowly. The Velvet Room greets him once more. Only this time, Lavenza and Igor are not the only two others in the room. Akechi is on the other couch, already awake and sitting against the blue cushions.  
  
“You’re up,” Akechi smiles “You passed out before me and I’m here before you. How does that even work?”  
  
Lavenza holds her grimoire to her chest and smiles “What matters is that you’re both here,” she assures them “And now that you’re both here, a deal can be made.”  
  
“If both participants are willing, what is,” Igor sets his knowing eyes on Akechi, who still looks very reluctant “A deal will only work if you both agree to it.”  
  
Akechi shakes his head and looks down. Akira doesn’t understand how he can be so afraid of the Metaverse. To Akira, it’s simple. Maybe he’d started this because he wanted to help and because he was in danger of being expelled but things were different now, he’d grown, he’d seen the things that could go wrong if - as Ryuji puts it - ‘shitty adults carry on doing whatever the fuck they want’. If he has the power to help, he will.  
  
For Akechi, it’s different. He’d used the Metaverse and abused it for another purpose. Is he afraid of what he’ll become when he turns back into Crow? Is he scared he’ll betray them again?  
  
“You should have killed me,” Akechi croaks and he lifts his head but he’s not looking at Akira. He’s looking at Lavenza and Igor “Why did you save me?!”  
  
Akira blinks. This is new. Akechi had told him that he’d just barely survived, that he’d escaped, wounded and had to hide. Not once did he think that Lavenza and Igor had something to do with his survival.  
  
“You have too little faith in yourself,” Lavenza tells him and the tone in her voice tells Akira she’s had to say this before “My Trickster, now is the time to prove to us and yourself that you’re not the man you once were.”  
  
“People don’t change,” Akechi’s voice breaks and he stares at them “I killed people. I orchestrated the chain of events that nearly killed YOUR trickster,” he gestures to Akira “A smart person would know not to trust me. I’ll only slow down the Phantom Thieves.”  
  
Igor hums but he doesn’t say anything. He’s watching them both like he knows what’s going to happen and it’s slightly comforting because Akira likes to think that if this was going to end badly, Igor would intervene more.  
  
Lavenza shakes her head “We can’t make you do anything,” she promises him “If you’d rather stay away, we won’t call you here again. We can’t. But there’s no denying we need you, now more than ever. Something brought the Metaverse back and the Phantom Thieves as they are will be no match.”  
  
Akechi moves his gaze to Akira and he’s asking the same question he did in Ryuji’s mothers’ tiny garden. The answer is as certain now as it had been back then and Akira’s resolve is as strong.  
  
“I need you,” he tells him and it’s just what Akechi needs to hear.  
  
The other boy huffs and drops his head. His soft brown locks flop gently and when he lifts his head, there’s a new bravery in his eyes. A new resolve, shaky but solid enough to make him move.  
  
“If you need me,” Akechi breathes. He can’t keep the smile from his face and it's this part that Akira understands. It’s the same feeling when Ryuji or Ann or any of the others rely on Akira, when they need him it makes him feel useful. Like he has a place in this world. It’s what Akechi needed too.  
  
“Then,” Igor interrupts both their thoughts “Do we have a deal?”  
  
Neither say anything. Neither need to. Lavenza smiles and she nods “My two Tricksters,” she says “We expect great things from you both.”  
  
Igor chuckles “We have a deal then.”


	4. Preparations

**4/18 - Monday**   
  
Ryuji wakes up slowly. He feels a light weight on his stomach and his limbs feel so heavy even as he opens his eyes to the sunlight pouring in through the living room window.   
  
“Hey.”   
  
Ann is awake. She’s curled up on the armchair with a teal blanket draped over her lap. Her hair is still in pigtails but it looks messier than usual. She yawns and leans back in her chair.   
  
“Your mum came home, saw us like this and just kind of...gave me a blanket I suppose,” she chuckles and pulls her blanket up to her chin “She hasn’t changed.”   
  
“She’s the same as ever,” Ryuji yawns, he looks down and finally notices the weight on his stomach is Ishida’s head. Ryuji pushes him off and the boy curls into the arm of the couch instead as Ryuji sits up and glances at the floor where Yusuke is still asleep.   
  
“You have class today,” Ann reminds him with another yawn “Don’t you?”   
  
“Why don’t you?” Ryuji grumbles and pulls his phone out from where it’s been digging into the small of his back all night.   
  
“Well we planned on going back home last night but the Metaverse made us all tired,” Ann points out “So obviously we’re not going to be able to make it back to Tokyo in time for school.”   
  
Ryuji rubs at his face and puts his phone down. When he looks up, he notices the silence “Where’s Morgana?”   
  
“Don’t know, I haven’t been awake that long,” Ann shrugs “I’m sure he’s not far. Probably somewhere with Akira.”   
  
Yusuke makes a quiet noise in his sleep, both Ann and Ryuji turn to look at him. Ryuji’s mother has put a blanket over Yusuke as well as a pillow underneath his head.   
  
Ann smiles “You know he’s never going to admit it, but he misses you both,” she states calmly “Starting another school year without you guys around...it hasn’t been easy.”   
  
Ryuji nods. He only knows that because it wasn’t easy for him either. Of course he has absolutely no regrets. He followed Akira down here because he knew it was going to be the best thing he could do. Not only for his friend but for his mother as well. But that didn’t make the leaving any easier. Especially when he knew Ann - a loner herself - wouldn’t have Makoto or Haru. He tried to comfort himself with the thought that she would have them, that they’d keep in contact but the reality was that they were not the Phantom Thieves anymore, they didn’t have that bond keeping them together anymore and Akira wasn’t there.   
  
“It’s been pretty lonely for you too, huh?” he turns his eyes to Ann and she’s so easy to read. She always has been, she’s never changed and that was one of things that endeared Ryuji to her in the first place. Maybe in middle school, Ann had tried to fit in with society. She’d tried to be a face in the crowd but she was never going to be one and the second she realised that, she stopped caring and started being herself.   
  
That is when she’s at her most beautiful.   
  
“I’ll be alright,” Ann reassures him with a brave smile “I still have my modelling work and I see Yusuke when we need to hang out and just talk.”   
  
Ryuji nods and he knows she’s being brave but it won’t do any good to call her out on her fears. It’s not like he can change them, not when he made the decision to come here on his own and leave her in Shujin Academy by herself.   
  
“It’s just one year,” Ann tells him “Then after that...graduation,” she chuckles softly “Wow, that came really fast.”   
  
“Any thoughts on what you’ll do when you graduate?” Ryuji asks and turns his gaze back to his fidgeting hands.   
  
“I have my modelling,” Ann shrugs “I could go and study something else, go to university but I don’t know what I’d study. For now I’m just doing what feels right for me. One step at a time, you know?”   
  
That makes Ryuji smile. One step at a time, Ann has always worked at her own pace and it’s another part of her he admires. If only because he does the same thing.   
  
Ann nods to Yusuke “He misses you too.”   
  
Ryuji glances at Yusuke and unlike Ann - whom he knows is very likely lonely - it’s different with Yusuke. It’s not like Ann, Ryuji and Akira were his only friends, he goes to another school so naturally he has to at least have acquaintances. But then Yusuke is weird too, unlike Ann, who walks to her own beat, Yusuke does the same thing but his beat is so different from everyone else that he’s just perceived as weird.   
  
Even Ryuji had thought of him as weird at first. It was only after spending time with him, after getting to know him and accept the way Yusuke thinks, that he understood that there was a lot more to him. Yusuke may not show it often enough, but he has the same problems everyone has. He’s not that good at making friends, he’s terribly blunt and he’s so naive sometimes. He’d been sheltered for so long and then just projected out in the world the way he had been, it would have been tough.   
  
“With any luck, you guys will be able to stay here a little longer,” Ryuji hums and looks up as the cat wanders into the room and jumps up onto the coffee table.   
  
“Ryuji, you’re gonna be late,” Morgana scolds him.   
  
Ryuji looks at the door but no one else is there, he frowns “Where’s Akira?”   
  
“He left last night, I was too tired to follow him,” Morgana replies as he licks his paw “He went to find Akechi. He was pretty worried about him.”   
  
“I am too,” Ann frowns “You saw the way he left the second he realised we were going back into the Metaverse. He didn’t seem to want to have any part of that.”   
  
“Can you blame him?” Ryuji stretches his arms out and nudges Ishida “The last time Akechi was in there, he tried to kill us. Then a shadow version of him tried to kill him. Then they tried to kill each other.”   
  
Morgana hums “It’s still worrying. There’s no doubt that Akechi’s power would come in handy for us. If he still retains the same power he had before, he would be as valuable as Akira. Both of them could be our wild cards.”   
  
Ryuji nudges Ishida again and the boy groans sleepily.   
  
“Oy, Kid,” Ryuji grumbles “Time to get up, we gotta go.”   
  
“Don’t wanna…” Ishida mumbles “Just a little longer mum…”   
  
Ryuji groans and nudges him again. He turns to Ann “When are the others supposed to get here?”   
  
“Haru said she had a morning class and Makoto doesn’t have anything on,” Ann yawns as she leans back into the armchair “They should be here after school. Maybe they should bring Futaba too.”   
  
“Alright,” Ryuji stretches one more time and gets up “Hopefully I’ll see Akira in class. You two hang around here, kill some time and we’ll meet you after school. There’s a cafe nearby, I’ll message you the name of it later and we’ll meet there.”   
  
“I’m going in your bag,” Morgana tells him “I can just sit in Akira’s desk. He’s probably gonna be there.”   
  
Ryuji rolls his eyes and nudges Ishida again “Get up,” he tells him again and pulls out his phone “Seriously.”   
  
**Ryuji:** Yo leader, you awake yet? Coming to school right?   
  
**Akira:** He’ll be there.   
  
**Ryuji:** ‘He’ll’? Who’s this?   
  
**Akira:** Akechi. Akira’s still asleep. But I’ll make sure he comes to school on time.   
  
**Ryuji:** Dude, what are you doing answering his phone?!   
  
**Akira:** You asked, I answered.   
  
**Ryuji:** Ugh, whatever. Tell him the others will be here after school so, cafe as usual.   
  
**Akira:** Very well.   
  
“Come on then,” Morgana says, jumping into Ryuji’s bag already “Let’s go.”   
  
* * *   
  
When Akira wakes, it’s to the scent of coffee. He opens his eyes and turns to his side just in time to see Akechi placing a white mug of coffee on his bedside table, next to his glasses.   
  
Akechi notices him and smiles “Good morning.”   
  
Akira sits up and rubs at his face. It doesn’t feel half as bad as it did the last time he went into the Metaverse, which is good because it means he’s getting used to the effects. Hopefully, within time, he’ll stop passing out when he comes out of it. He glances at the coffee and watches as Akechi pulls his school blazer on.   
  
“I’m afraid I don’t know how to make coffee quite like those at Leblanc,” he admits with a small grin “But I figured you might need it this morning. You were pretty out of it last night.”   
  
Akira rubs his head. He needs a shower. He needs another set of clothing and he probably needs two cups of coffee if he’s being completely honest with himself. But already he feels a little stronger for having endured the Metaverse twice now, his body is slowly getting used to it. He turns his eyes to Akechi and scoots himself to the head of the bed as Akechi comes to sit at the foot.   
  
“You...remember everything, right?” Akechi asks as Akira reaches for the coffee “About last night.”   
  
Akira pauses “Which part? The Metaverse part or the Velvet Room part?”   
  
“The latter,” Akechi presses calmly “We made a deal with...his name is Igor, right?”   
  
Akira takes a sip and instantly the taste shoots right through his senses. Where Leblanc’s coffee is known to be pretty bitter but with a richness in the aroma, the coffee Akechi made is just bitter. But it’s enough to kick off the last of the sleepiness that Akira was feeling and he’s right: that was just what he’d needed.   
  
“You should know his name,” Akira points out as he sets the mug back on the bedside table “Didn’t they save you?”   
  
Akechi shakes his head, soft brown locks shifting with the movement “That was Lavenza,” he replies calmly “Igor didn’t talk to me much. I was slightly out of it too. From what I can recall, Lavenza took my body out of the Metaverse and put me somewhere safe. My mind stayed in the Velvet Room until I was strong enough to take physical form again. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the Velvet Room is nothing like the Metaverse. We can’t get in there through the Navigator App.”   
  
Akira had noticed that. Mainly because almost every time he turned up in the Velvet Room, his physical body was doing something like sleeping. There was only that one time and even then he couldn’t be sure exactly what had happened to his body.   
  
“Once I was strong enough, I returned to myself,” Akechi explains “By the time I got back, you had already turned yourself in. It took me some time to investigate and figure out what had happened in all the time I was gone.”   
  
Akira meets his eyes “I kept my promise,” he tells him “You told me to take care of your father. I did that.”   
  
“I know,” Akechi’s smiles, his eyes warming kindly “I was glad for it. There were, of course, some moments where I’d wished you’d just killed him but...that wouldn’t be the Phantom Thieves I know of, would it?”   
  
Akira shakes his head but he knows Akechi is already aware of what they were going to do to Shido. Even if Akira had every single reason in the world to hate Shido - and he did - the fact was he was no murderer. There was another way to change Shido’s heart and killing him would have been unnecessary.   
  
Not to mention, Ann had a point. There are some fates worse than dying and Shido would have to live with himself after everything he’d done. His conscience alone was tormenting him.   
  
Akechi looks troubled for a moment and he keeps his gaze down on his knees whilst Akira takes another sip of his coffee. It only occurs to him then that Akechi doesn’t tend to say this much to the others. This honest and often troubled side of his, only Akira himself has witnessed it thus far.   
  
“I agreed to the deal and I will stand by it,” Akechi says, bravely lifting his eyes up to look at Akira again “If you need me-”   
  
“I do,” Akira tells him firmly.   
  
Akechi smiles and nods “Then, I will join the Phantom Thieves again. Igor and Lavenza seem to think something powerful is coming and if that is the case, we’ll all have to get a lot stronger. Not to mention there’s the matter of these fake Phantom Thieves. Given what’s going on, I wouldn’t be surprised if these two incidents were related. But we’ll have to discuss this in detail with the others after school.”   
  
It feels like a plan. Solid enough for Akira to feel like they finally have some direction.   
  
“Well then,” Akechi gets up and checks over his uniform “Finish that coffee, take a shower and we’ll get going. We still have to be normal students after all.”   
  
Akira watches him, light brown locks glinting under the light, uniform pristine and fitting his slim body and a mind that runs like a well oiled engine. He has so many faces, he can fool even the most critical of skeptics and he lets very few into his real mind.   
  
There’s nothing normal about Akechi Goro at all.   
  
* * *   
  
During the afternoon class, Akira starts feeling his attention span waning. He feels the flick of Morgana’s tail as the cat hides in his desk and it’s actually kind of like having a tiny heater. Kojima is teaching something - he stopped paying attention ten minutes ago - and instead he looks out the window.   
  
It’s sunny out, somewhere out there, someone is using their name and he wonders what they’re going to do next. They shot the principal in the head, students are getting counselling for what they’d seen and Akira wonders if he needs the same thing for all the shit that he’s seen.   
  
Probably.   
  
It’s strange but everyone in school is continuing as normal. Classes run just like they always did, there’s always gossiping students in the hallways. Nothing has changed and yet when Akira looks close enough, he can see everything has. He’s still the new student but even he knows that nobody’s okay. Everyone is on edge and they seem to be waiting for something.   
  
For the police to finish their investigations, for the fake Phantom Thieves to strike again, who knows but they’re all waiting. Like they know that the next person to receive a blue calling card will end up with a hole in their head just like the late principal.   
  
He feels Akechi’s eyes on his back and doesn’t dare turn around. Akechi’s probably still listening to the class. His phone buzzes in his pocket and just like he’s always done before, he takes it out discreetly and looks down at the group chat.   
  
**Makoto:** We’re here. Managed to get a large booth in the cafe Ryuji mentioned.   
  
**Ryuji:** Dude class ain’t out for another hour or so. You might as well walk around.   
  
**Futaba:** Had enough walking around just getting here. Can’t believe this town doesn’t use trains unless you’re leaving the town altogether. Energy low. Need recharging.   
  
**Ryuji:** Are you a battery?   
  
**Ann:** We’ll be there soon! Yusuke and I are just walking around.   
  
**Yusuke:** This town is beautiful...if devoid of anything to do.   
  
**Futaba:** I saw a lot of old people. Maybe this is a retirement town.   
  
**Ryuji:** Big city snobs…   
  
**Haru:** I saw some wonderful gardens on the way. One thing I always loved about smaller towns like these was the space to garden and keep things beautiful.   
  
**Yusuke:** Precisely.   
  
**Makoto:** And anyway, aren’t you in class right now? You should be paying attention.   
  
**Ryuji:** You’ve met me, right? What was I doing all of last year whilst we were in class?   
  
**Akira:** Makoto, meet Ryuji. Ryuji, meet Makoto.   
  
**Ryuji:** Sup?   
  
**Makoto:** Pay attention to your teacher!   
  
**Akechi:** Speaking as someone enduring the same lecture, I have to side with our leader here. It’s pretty boring.   
  
**Makoto:** Akechi, you’re supposed to set an example.   
  
**Akechi:** Since when?   
  
**Futaba:** Akechi Goro, delinquent who doesn’t pay attention in class. Welcome to the dark side, we have cookies.   
  
**Ann:** We do?!   
  
**Makoto** : …   
  
**Ryuji:** Calories…   
  
**Ann:** Shut up!   
  
**Haru:** I’ll buy some cookies.   
  
**Makoto:** Ugh. Anyway, we’ll be at the cafe when school lets out.   
  
**Futaba:** With cookies.   
  
**Yusuke:** Might I suggest miso soup to go with them?   
  
**Ryuji:** Eww dude, you don’t mix miso soup and cookies, that’s just wrong.   
  
**Futaba:** You know nothing, Inari Snow…   
  
**Yusuke:** Snow?   
  
**Futaba:** DO YOU EVER HAVE ANY FUN?!   
  
Akira puts his phone down and he can hear Akechi just barely keeping his laughter in behind him. He looks over his shoulder to see the other hiding his face in his arms, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter and he can’t help but grin.   
  
He turns his gaze back to the front of the class and puts his phone back in his pocket. In his desk, Morgana hums quietly.   
  
“Nice to have all the Phantom Thieves together again,” he flicks his tail out on Akira’s stomach “If all goes well with Ishida, we could have an even bigger group.”   
  
Glancing up a few rows, Akira looks at the back of Ishida’s head and he’s not paying attention either. He’s kind of slumped in his seat in such a way that the teacher won’t call him out on it but it’s obvious he’s not listening anymore. It only makes sense to add Ishida to their group. Not only is he directly involved with their new target, but he also unleashed a Persona of his own.   
  
That and with Akechi back and fully on board with this, that raises their total manpower up by two. It’s not a bad start considering what they’re up against.   
  
For their last class, it’s history. Akira can hear Akechi muttering something as Minagawa Shion finally walks into the class to set up. In his pocket, Akira’s phone buzzes.   
  
**Ryuji:** Dude, that’s Minagawa   
  
**Akechi:** Well spotted.   
  
Minagawa looks somewhat different than his shadow version. He’s the kind of man who can actually be easily ignored. Dark hair, unassuming form and blue/white checked sweater vest with a white shirt underneath and black pants. The only thing that actually sticks out about him is his ponytail, Akira doesn’t know many men with long hair.   
  
In his seat, Ishida visibly tenses and Minagawa starts in on a lecture about ancient Egypt and the crypts they kept in pyramids. It distantly reminds Akira of Futaba’s castle but they have a more pressing matter to address.   
  
There’s no doubt now that Minagawa is probably a bastard. If he has a castle, he has to be one. From what Akira had already seen, Minagawa was a collector of sorts - that was the only way to explain the golden student statue. In his excavation site, he’d found the students to be of more value than the rocks and diamonds that visibly poked out from the walls.   
  
But then what did that mean? He’d destroyed Ishida because the boy hadn’t approved of him fixing baseball matches. Because the boy had refused to bow down to his commands. Akira had a bad feeling he knew what those commands were. He really, really hoped he was wrong.   
  
“We’ll figure it out,” Akechi promises quietly. It’s as though he’d been reading Akira’s thoughts but it does make Akira feel a little better. His phone buzzes again.   
  
**Ryuji:** This guy is goin’ down.   
  
Akira looks back at Minagawa and frowns. When Kamoshida was in front of strangers or people who would fight back, he was kind and courteous - even helpful. But when he was around his targets, or people he could hurt he was totally different. It hadn’t taken Kamoshida long at all to target Akira himself and force him into a short time limit to change his heart. But Minagawa isn’t going to go after Akira. Not if he’s after what Akira suspects he’s after.   
  
The Minagawa Akira sees here is not the Minagawa he truly is. He’s seen his shadow, he’s heard his words and it’s ugly.   
  
He really, really hopes he’s wrong.   
  
* * *   
  
Futaba attacks Akira in a hug the second he comes in through the door. Naturally by now he isn’t so surprised with her hugging him these days - she sees him as her big brother if anything - but when this is followed by both Makoto and Haru, Akechi raises an eyebrow.   
  
“Aren’t you the ladies man?” Akechi mutters.   
  
“Dude, he always has been,” Ryuji grumbles as he comes in after them with Ishida “Don’t know what it is but girls love him.”   
  
“I’ve missed you!” Makoto says as she leads the group back to their large booth. Sure enough, Ann and Yusuke are already there. With cookies.   
  
“First of all,” Morgana says when everyone is seated and Akira has gently placed his bag beside him “Introductions would be best.”   
  
“So this must be Ishida,” Makoto turns her sharp eyes on the boy and he shrinks a little where he sits next to Ryuji. Phantom Thief or not, Makoto can be unwittingly intimidating at times.   
  
“I’m Ishida Hikaru,” he introduces himself timidly and manages a small bow where he sits “I’m a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves and-”   
  
“And now you’re one yourself,” Yusuke finishes for him “Well, you have a Persona.”   
  
“Hold up, hold up,” Ryuji holds up his hand “Kid has a Persona but whether or not he actually joins the Phantom Thieves has yet to be seen.”   
  
“I don’t see why not,” Morgana points out “With the Metaverse up again, we may need all the help we can get. There’s also the fact that he knows Minagawa.”   
  
“I also want to help,” Ishida adds, a little braver this time “I want to help take Minagawa down. If I can get that bastard to have a change of heart, to confess to everything he’s done...then that would be enough for me.”   
  
Akira thinks about the unassuming and easily forgettable history teacher he’d seen this afternoon and frowns “Before that,” he speaks up “I think you better tell us what exactly Minagawa is doing. What did he do to you?”   
  
Ishida shrinks but he must have seen this coming because it doesn’t take long for him to answer.   
  
He glances at each member at the table and sighs “Minagawa is a collector,” he explains calmly “I don’t know exactly what happened after he discovered the Megalan and I don’t really care. At best I’m getting the gist that he got famous for a little while.”   
  
“He did,” Futaba nods “The discovery of the Megalan was a huge deal and it should have set Minagawa up for life. He should have been rolling in the riches from the discovery.”   
  
“Why didn’t he?” Haru asks quietly.   
  
Futaba starts looking uncomfortable and clears her throat. “I don’t know what he was buying but he was sending huge amounts of money out to an unknown account,” she tells them “I had to look in the deepweb to figure that out.”   
  
“Maybe he was sending that money out to help someone?” Haru suggests optimistically.   
  
“Would such a man really have a castle if he were helping anyone?” Akechi points out coolly “Not to mention, a legitimate transaction wouldn’t have to take place in the deepweb.”   
  
“Minagawa basically has a system,’ Ishida explains “You see, he may be the history teacher but he’s always had an interest in ‘star’ students. Those who do really well in school. They could be really brainy or really sporty but if he takes an interest, it gets bad,” he pales and looks down “He starts rigging things. Fixing matches, scaring off opponents to make sure this student he picked will win.”   
  
It reminds Akira distantly of Hifumi’s mother.   
  
“Then when you win and you start getting really good and all the attention, that’s when he hits,” Ishida shivers “He made me the captain of the baseball team and we started winning a lot of matches. We were going national, best team in the country. I was starting to get a lot of attention too, both at home and at school and it was great. I didn’t know that Minagawa was behind it all, rigging every single game one way or another.”   
  
“So when did he start laying his demands?” Yusuke asks carefully.   
  
“Not long before the final match,” Ishida says “It could have set my teammates up for life. It was the ultimate chance, there were scouts in that match. I found out about what Minagawa was doing and when I confronted him about it, he told me about how everything was getting good. How we were all getting noticed. He kept saying how we deserved to be noticed at last, we were going to be rich and famous...and if I didn’t do what he wanted me to do, he was going to stop rigging the matches. He’d pull his support out and my teammates would lose every chance they had.”   
  
Akira can see Ryuji getting angrier. It seems, shitty teachers are everywhere.   
  
“What did he want you to do?” Makoto asks but the look in her eye says she already suspects she knows. Haru has gone quiet, Futaba looks disturbed, Akechi looks resigned. He suspects he knows too. Akira has had his suspicions.   
  
The only people who don’t seem to realise it’s as  bad as it is are Ann, Ryuji and Yusuke. Ryuji is just angry, Yusuke looks worried and Ann mostly seems to be concerned that Ishida is going to collapse at any time.   
  
Ishida shivers “Boys who do what he tells them to do are the golden boys,” he explains quietly “They get away with anything. They’re the best because all of their matches are guaranteed for them to win and the ones who submit must already know that it’s all rigged. Nobody would ever suspect Minagawa, he covers his tracks well. In order to graduate from this school and get into anywhere they want, get any scholarship, any university, all they have to do is get on their knees or lie down and let him...”   
  
“Oh,” Ann pales immediately “Oh no.”   
  
“Disgusting,” Yusuke hisses, a flare of anger rushing through him even as he thinks about it.   
  
Ryuji is too angry to talk and the others sort of just look resigned, like their suspicions were unfortunately confirmed.   
  
“Let’s change his heart,” Haru suggests gently “A man like that cannot be allowed to go free.”   
  
“Do you suppose he is connected to the fake Phantom Thieves?” Morgana asks from where he sits, mostly hidden, in Akira’s bag.   
  
“Hard to say,” Akechi frowns and flags down the waitress for a round of drinks “But if they are involved, we may run into them if we try to change Minagawa’s heart.”   
  
“We’ll have to take extra precautions,” Makoto agrees “But there is another problem. Most of us live in Tokyo. Infiltrating the Metaverse would be easier if we were all in one city but we’re not, how can we manage this?”   
  
“How long are you down here?” Akechi asks “If everyone is in agreement, we can try and do as much as we can this afternoon and possibly tomorrow. We need at least some idea of how large this castle of his is.”   
  
“I’ll stay here,” Futaba says and looks at Akira “You have room, right?”   
  
Akira thinks of his tiny bed that both he and Akechi have been sleeping on lately. It’s not exactly something he wants Futaba to see but for one reason or another, it’s just been happening and she might get the wrong idea.   
  
“Spare room,” he decides. Akechi twitches and only Akira catches it.   
  
“Good,” Futaba brightens “I’ll sleep there then. If I follow you into the Metaverse, I can get a clearer idea of what we’re dealing with too.”   
  
“Haru and I can risk two days at the most,” Makoto adds with a wince of regret “I’m sorry. I know the Phantom Thieves should be my first priority but-”   
  
“We can’t ask you to let go of your university courses and life for the Phantom Thieves,” Akechi points out calmly “It would be unfair on both sides.”   
  
“He’s right,” Ann nods “Let’s make the most of the time we have now. Yusuke and I will have to do the same until we can figure something out.”   
  
Yusuke looks thoughtful “I could just transfer here.”   
  
Ryuji pales and looks at him in horror “Dude no.”   
  
“I said ‘could’” Yusuke points out calmly “There is no art school here so it would be a shame on my part.”   
  
Akira feels Morgana purring next to him and feels a bit of conflict. His friends, their lives are in Tokyo and the problem the Phantom Thieves face is here. The thing is, he can’t ask them to forget their lives, their schooling, for this. They can’t move here just for this and they can’t take time off school and university for it.   
  
The only person who has nothing to lose by joining is Futaba. Even then, Akira gets the nagging feeling he’s going to get a semi-angry call from Sojiro later about looking out for her and not getting her into trouble.   
  
It makes Akira wince a little because all he does is get her in trouble. Granted, she does a pretty good job of that all by herself too.   
  
“Speaking of which,” Makoto breaches the subject “Since we are staying here a little longer, does everyone have a place to stay?”   
  
Ann, Yusuke and Haru look between Ryuji and Akira.   
  
Ryuji holds up his arms “You guys saw my place, it’s tiny. I can’t have you guys staying there without putting you guys on the floor.”   
  
Akira thinks about his place. His parents didn’t mind Akechi and they probably won’t mind Futaba if he explains that she was someone who’d practically been like his sister in Tokyo. But the others…   
  
“I saw a hotel not too far from here,” Haru speaks up “I’ll get us rooms.”   
  
“Then we are in agreement?” Yusuke asks, his eyes scanning the entire group “Two days. We explore the castle and get as much done as we possibly can.”   
  
“Can we change a heart in two days?” Haru frowns, looking quite doubtful.   
  
Makoto sighs but her eyes are determined “It’s possible we can. If we locate the treasure within one day and send out the calling card the following day.”   
  
“We need to be on our guard more so than usual,” Morgana finally pipes up from Akira’s bag, his tail swishes around as he keeps himself semi-hidden “Not only are we dealing with a castle but we are also dealing with another group. If they can get into the Metaverse and if they’re at all connected to the reason why the Metaverse exists again...we should be careful, that’s all.”   
  
Akechi’s eyes darken and only Akira notices the way the brunette's eyes flicker to Akira before looking away.   
  
“Let’s do this!” Ryuji says a lot louder than he probably intended to “Let’s change this bastards heart!”   
  
Ishida smiles and Ann tilts her head at him.   
  
“And Ishida?” she grins “Welcome to the Phantom Thieves.”   
  
* * *   
  
**Ann:** So...turns out that the only hotel in this town is a love hotel…   
  
**Ryuji:** Seriously?!   
  
**Ann:** Yeah we looked for other options but there is literally only one hotel here and it’s a love hotel so now that’s where we’re staying.   
  
**Ryuji:** Akira did you know that?!   
  
**Akira:** Yes.   
  
**Ann:** Why didn’t you warn us!?   
  
**Akira:** Because it’s funny.   
  
**Ann:** THERE ARE CONDOMS IN MY ROOM! IT’S THEMED LIKE A DUNGEON!   
  
**Yusuke:** You got the dungeon room? I got the waterbed fantasy…   
  
**Haru:** It’s like Russian Roulette with hotel rooms!   
  
**Makoto:** Of course it’s all thanks to you, Haru, that we have somewhere to stay. Thank you for putting us up for two nights.   
  
**Haru:** If there had been other options…   
  
**Makoto:** But there weren’t so this will do.   
  
**Haru:** My bed vibrates…   
  
**Akechi:** I’m amazed they let you stay in the love hotel - given that two of you are high school students.   
  
**Haru:** I had a word with management.   
  
**Akechi:** Of course you did.   
  
**Makoto:** On the plus hand, they give out presents here! Did you guys get a Mickey Mouse toy? It’s kind of cute. It’s got the Mickey Mouse head and a really long neck...I think it’s a massager because it’s got a button.   
  
**Yusuke:** No.   
  
**Ann:** I don’t see one.   
  
**Haru:** Um, Makoto…   
  
**Makoto:** Oh. It’s not a kids toy…   
  
**Futaba:** O_O   
  
**Akechi:** I think Akira had the right idea in not warning you guys about the love hotel thing.   
  
**Makoto:** So when my sister calls me and asks me where I’m staying…   
  
**Futaba:** You turn off the vibrator and make sure the mood music isn’t playing when you answer.   
  
**Yusuke:** How does anyone sleep on a waterbed?   
  
**Ann:** Don’t break it.   
  
**Yusuke:** Can you break waterbeds?   
  
**Ann:** I don’t know but don’t do it!   
  
**Ryuji:** Akechi’s right, Akira was thinking ahead in not warning you guys.   
  
**Ann:** Hey! I got a Mickey Mouse toy too!   
  
**Makoto:** …   
  
**Akechi:** Should I tell her?   
  
**Ann:** Tell me what?   
  
**Makoto:** No, let her keep that innocence.   
  
**Ann:** Hey it vibrates! This will do wonders for my back.   
  
**Futaba:** And so my night is now complete.   
  
**Yusuke:** I think I broke the waterbed…   
  
**Futaba:** I stand corrected. NOW my night is complete.   
  
* * *   
  
Akira’s parents accepted Futaba without much trouble. He took her home, explained the situation and his father gave this kind of non-committal shrug before hiding behind his newspaper again, leaving his mother to set up the spare room for her.   
  
“Your parents are…” Futaba begins and struggles to think of a word “...distant.”   
  
Akechi had delicately tried to find a word to describe them as well but the truth was that Akira’s parents were distant. They had been ever since he’d been arrested. They hadn’t even talked about it and Akira didn’t know how to start.   
  
“If there’s nothing else you need,” he says “I’ll head to bed.”   
  
“I’m good,” Futaba grins, clicking away on her computer after she’d quickly set it up again “We’re gonna have to get ready. We’ll have a lot to do tomorrow after you guys finish school.”   
  
Akira wonders if it would be easier if they just skipped school altogether but that would risk not only Minagawa finding out but also the chance that the fake Phantom Thieves could put the pieces together. There’s more risk now than ever.   
  
It’s like they’re all fighting blind. A lot like the first time they went into a palace with only Morgana’s guidance. Futaba will be able to sense danger near them but they’ll have to prepare for the unexpected and be ready for whatever will hit them.   
  
Akira doesn’t like the odds and he’s probably not the only one. Makoto had seemed concerned as well, Akechi hadn’t said a single word, even Morgana was more quiet than usual.   
  
He heads back into his room where Morgana is already cleaning himself as he sits down on his bed and lies down.   
  
“Tomorrow’s going to be a big day,” Morgana says, jumping up onto the end of the bed and padding closer to Akira “We’d better get some rest.”   
  
Akira nods, he gets dressed, brushes his teeth, slides under the blankets and feels Morgana’s weight near his legs but when he closes his eyes and tries to sleep, he can’t. He used to be able to just fall asleep, but tonight he just can’t.   
  
He tries keeping his eyes closed, tries turning off his mind but he can’t. Sleep doesn’t come and after an hour, Akira opens his eyes again and looks down. Morgana is snoring away on his leg. He flops his head back on his pillow and stares up at the ceiling wondering what’s wrong.   
  
It’s not like he isn’t tired. He is. But something is wrong, something’s missing. Maybe he’s thinking too much about what’s going to happen tomorrow - or what could happen. Maybe the worry of having something they know nothing about possibly threatening them is throwing him off.   
  
He almost feels like he’s missing something even though sleeping with Morgana near his leg is what he’s most used to now.   
  
He rolls onto his side, earning a sleepy protest from Morgana, and tries to concentrate on sleeping. It’s harder than it’s ever been before and he doesn’t understand why.   
  
* * *   
  
Ryuji sighs as he grabs a towel from the laundry basket and goes to the bathroom where the shower is running. He places it on the sink and glances at the shadowy figure inside his shower.   
  
“Seriously,” he groans “Love Hotel or not, it would have had a shower.”   
  
“I was uncomfortable in there,” Yusuke says over the hot spray of the shower “Not to mention I broke the waterbed. I don’t think the staff were very happy about that. It’s their fault for having such a flimsy bed, nobody sleeps on water.”   
  
Ryuji rolls his eyes but lets the other have it. He leaves the bathroom and goes to his room. When Yusuke finally comes out, Ryuji is sitting on the end of his bed with his phone, researching the Megalan that Minagawa had discovered.   
  
He looks up. Yusuke’s dark blue locks are still a little damp and he smells quite sweet. Strange that the same shampoo doesn’t last on Ryuji but Yusuke somehow manages to make the scent linger. Ryuji is vaguely reminded that he’s never seen Yusuke right after a shower.   
  
Somehow the guy manages to look good wet and it makes Ryuji really uncomfortable.   
  
“Thanks for letting me stay,” Yusuke yawns as he pads over to join Ryuji on his bed.   
  
Ryuji frowns. He’d opened the door to a soaking wet Yusuke who had walked all the way from the Love Hotel he’d been staying in. Whilst Ryuji had agreed to let Yusuke use his shower, he said nothing about letting the other stay.   
  
“Hey,” he protests as Yusuke lies down “I’ve only got one bed, man!”   
  
“Mmhmm,” Yusuke mumbles sleepily, he’s not listening and Ryuji suddenly realises one of them is going to have to sleep on the floor.   
  
Yusuke curls up on the bed and Ryuji groans. He’ll have to take the couch, he’s done it before but his back still aches from last night. But then Yusuke makes this noise and his arm flops over the side of the bed like he’s gone to sleep and Ryuji realises he doesn’t have a choice.   
  
Grudgingly, he gets up and throws the blanket over Yusuke’s form. He’s just about to head to the door when Yusuke reaches out and grabs his wrist. Ryuji feels a jolt as he looks down and realises the other boy is really only half awake.   
  
“Stay,” Yusuke pleads.   
  
“There’s one bed and it’s tiny,” Ryuji reminds him.   
  
“I missed you,” Yusuke says and Ryuji wonders if he drank the complimentary alcohol in his room.   
  
Yusuke pulls him towards the bed and Ryuji follows until the other has pulled him down to lie next to him. The bed is tiny, the two of them are cramped and it doesn’t help that Yusuke is taller so his feet hang off the edge but Yusuke’s arm closes around Ryuji’s middle and it confuses the shit out of him.   
  
If Akira had done this to him, Ryuji would have kicked him off already. But Yusuke is warm and Ryuji’s chest starts feeling really tight, almost like he can’t breathe and he’s surprised how much he doesn’t want to move.   
  
“You’re warm,” Yusuke whispers, his breath ghosting on Ryuji’s ear.   
  
Ryuji feels his face burning up and closes his eyes “Sh...shut up,” he tries to sound more masculine than he feels “This doesn’t go back to Akira or any of the others.”   
  
“Mmhm,” Yusuke mumbles. His fingers at Ryuji’s stomach slip a little lower and Ryuji jumps from the feeling of Yusuke’s fingertips brushing against his bare stomach.   
  
Yusuke’s breath brushes against the back of Ryuji’s neck and it’s driving him crazy but he doesn’t move. Instead he closes his eyes and lets Yusuke drag the blanket over both of them. Ryuji’s heart is beating really fast, he’s all over the place and Yusuke’s warm fingers are still resting on his bare stomach. It’s almost more than he can take but somehow he manages to sleep.   
  
“I really missed you,” Yusuke mumbles right before Ryuji falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the major gap in updating! I've been settling down in Tokyo and I'm sincerely regretting moving here in the summer. It's so hot! On the plus hand, lots of fun living here. Once things settle down, I can write a lot more and there will be more to come later!


	5. Sweet Dreams

**4/19 - Tuesday**   
  
Akira still feels the pull of sleep as he settles down on his desk and subtly slides Morgana in to hide amongst his books. Morgana flicks his tail against Akira’s elbow and stomach, a slow, quiet purr rumbling his desk just slightly as he belatedly realises that Morgana didn’t get much sleep either. Not with the way he’d been thrashing around last night.   
  
“Mornin.”   
  
Ryuji plops himself on Akira’s desk and rubs at his face “Goddamn, I slept like a log last night. This Metaverse shit must be fucking with our strength.”   
  
Morgana pokes his head out a little and eyes Ryuji “Technically, the Metaverse shouldn’t exist at all,” he points out “It’s back which means it’s being powered by something else. That something has to be very powerful so it’s no wonder the Metaverse exhausts us all.”   
  
Akira’s heard this before from Lavenza and Igor. It’s about as comforting now as it had been when he first heard it.   
  
Ryuji groans “First this god shit that nearly brought down the whole damn world and now something we can’t even see. Do we ever get a break?”   
  
“Apparently not,” Morgana hums, his ear poking out from under the tabletop of Akira’s desk “But more importantly, we have a lot to do in one day. It’s almost going to be impossible but we need everyone at their best - that includes you, Ryuji!”   
  
“I’ll be fine,” Ryuji rolls his eyes “Why do you always single me out?”   
  
“You were yawning!” Morgana snaps “The day has only just started!”   
  
“That’s because….” Ryuji stops and his face turns a little pink. Akira notices it easily because Ryuji really isn’t that hard to read. But the look on his face also tells Akira that it’s not something he should push just yet so he leaves it alone and looks up at the first sign of a tuft of brown locks near the doors.   
  
The girls catch him a couple of seconds later and Akira tries to ignore the jolt of annoyance he feels when the girls surround Akechi just as he comes in through the door.   
  
“ _Akechi-kuun!”_ the squeal “ _Your skin is so smooth! What do you use?”_   
  
_“Do you have a girlfriend?”_  
  
 _“What school were you in before you came here?”_  
  
 _“Did you really come from Tokyo?”_   
  
“Still as popular as ever,” Morgana hums, tucking himself further into Akira’s desk “Well...if that’s what girls want, maybe I’ll be like that when I’m human too.”   
  
Akira shoots the cat a skeptical look but turns back to watch Akechi. He’s handling the girls well. It’s like he just flicked a switch and his fake smile is on, blinding and radiating and fooling absolutely everyone into thinking he’s someone he’s not. It’s almost enough to piss Akira off because he knows what Akechi is truly like and his true personality now is not one that has to be stifled under that fake mask he wears.   
  
It’s annoying because Akira also knows why Akechi does it. As an unwanted and abandoned child, betrayed by both parents, it is almost ingrained in Akechi to seek for love and approval - no matter how fake.   
  
Akira wishes Akechi could see that he doesn’t need that and he never did.   
  
“Are you alright?” Morgana asks, shaking Akira out of his thoughts. The boy looks down at the cat in his desk and Morgana flicks his tail against Akira’s stomach. “You were restless last night. Did you even get that much sleep?”   
  
Akira shakes his head, he kept waking up and when he did, it was very hard to go back to sleep again. He didn’t know what it was.   
  
Akechi finally makes his way past the girls and takes his desk behind Akira. He yawns into his arm and sits down “Good morning.”   
  
“You too Akechi?” Morgana asks in surprise “This one,” he flicks his tail against Akira again “Had trouble sleeping last night as well. Kept me up too.”   
  
“I tried,” Akechi rubs at his face “I’ll be fine this afternoon though. We have a lot of work to do.”   
  
Morgana eyes them both and tucks himself away in Akira’s desk “I hope we’ll be alright,” he mutters quietly “Because with our two wild cards out of action, we’re screwed.”   
  
Akira feels Akechi’s eyes on the back of his head and when the teacher comes into the class, he wonders if they really will be alright.   
  
* * *   
  
Yusuke wakes up to the sound of the front door closing. He opens his eyes and it takes him a moment to remember where he is because this messy room is absolutely nothing like his tidy surroundings.   
  
Right. Waterbed. Love Hotel. Ryuji. Not necessarily in that order either.   
  
He sits up in bed and as he stretches his arms out, he notices a hastily scribbled note hanging off the corner of the bedside counter. Yusuke peels it off and looks over Ryuji’s messy handwriting. How he passes any class is beyond Yusuke.   
  
_‘Yo,_  
  
 _Left for school. There’s some leftovers in the kitchen, help yourself. Meet us at the same cafe after school. Also, your clothes are still wet so just borrow my clothes for now._  
  
 _And don’t tell the others about last night.’_   
  
Yusuke stares at it. Ryuji’s penmanship aside, the thought of borrowing Ryuji’s clothes intrigues Yusuke. As does the thought that Ryuji allowed last night to happen but doesn’t want the others to know.   
  
He shakes his head. There are some parts of Ryuji he’ll never understand and Yusuke is already used to that thought. It’s not like he was expecting the blonde to go up to the others and say ‘Yusuke and I cuddled on the same bed last night and fell asleep like that’ but Ryuji is actually, actively embarrassed about it.   
  
That kind of hurts. Yet at the same time, Yusuke already knows he can’t expect anything more when it comes to Ryuji.   
  
Still last night...he recalls he’d been tired but not so tired that he’d forgotten what he’d done. The truth was that when he said he missed Ryuji, he wasn’t even stating the whole of it.   
  
He moves himself to sit on the side of the bed instead and puts the note down gently on the bedside table. Yusuke eyes Ryuji’s clothes, messily sprawled out all over the drawers and shakes his head. He can’t help the small smile that comes to his face at the very sight. It’s just so...Ryuji.   
  
There’s no real way to describe him and underselling him by simply saying he’s a ‘normal teenage boy’ doesn’t really seem to cut it either. The truth of the matter is that Yusuke hadn’t realised what was going to happen until he woke up one morning and realised that visiting Leblanc, seeing Akira and seeing Ryuji was no longer a possibility in Tokyo.   
  
With Akira at least, he’d gotten somewhat used to that idea when Akira had been held up in that institution whilst they tried to prove his innocence. But Ryuji...an unexpected pain had hit Yusuke in the chest and it took him three days of severe discomfort and unease before he realised he missed Ryuji Sakamoto.   
  
Actively, missed him.   
  
He missed spotting his blonde hair amongst the crowds in Shibuya. He missed hearing Ryuji’s laugh across the other side of Leblanc. He even missed him saying something dumb or burping or otherwise being totally uncouth. He missed everything about him and soon Ryuji was all Yusuke could think about it.   
  
So he did what he did best. He brooded about it until Ann basically had to take him out for coffee at Leblanc to ‘air him out’.   
  
He didn’t talk about it to her. Ann was too close to Ryuji and Yusuke didn’t even know how to understand it himself, let alone get someone else to understand it. How on earth could he have developed any sort of romantic attachment to a caveman like Ryuji, it just didn’t make any sense. It didn’t help that they were polar opposites in most affairs. So Yusuke withdrew, kept this part to himself until he had the excuse to come here and see Ryuji again.   
  
It figures that his opportunity to see the guy again came in the form of ‘the Metaverse is open and we’re all doomed again’.   
  
He gets up and sifts through Ryuji’s clothes before he finds something that might actually fit him. Ryuji’s taste in clothes is more...colourful and loud than Yusuke would like on himself and the guy is shorter so Yusuke has to go for his baggier clothes but there is one thing Ryuji’s clothing has that Yusuke finds himself liking.   
  
Ryuji’s scent is all over them. It sends shivers down Yusuke’s spine as he pulls his shirt on and the scent just envelops him.   
  
Yusuke checks himself in the mirror, tucks a lock of hair behind his ear and glances down at the bright red shirt that reads ‘SUCK IT MOTHERFUCKER’ on the chest.   
  
Classy as always, Sakamoto.   
  
He looks around Ryuji’s bedroom for a moment before grabbing the note, flicking it over and writing a short thank you message for Ryuji’s mother. He then heads downstairs, sticks it on the refrigerator and grabs his bag to head out again.   
  
If he’s being really honest with himself, he knows he has no shot in hell with Ryuji. The thought that he does, even a one percent chance, doesn’t even cross his mind. But last night he’d been cold and annoyed and he’d allowed himself a moment of weakness to need Ryuji, to go to him and stay with him.   
  
That weakness, he vows, isn’t coming out again. For the sake of his friendship - which he reminds himself is all he’s going to have with Ryuji - he needs to keep it hidden and hope it goes away.   
  
Because he’d rather have Ryuji’s friendship than nothing at all.   
  
* * *   
  
When the group return to the usual diner, the staff are already used to them hanging around the biggest table. One of the waitresses brings a small offering of ham for ‘the cat in the bag’ and Morgana happily chews at it as the group look around at each other.   
  
“Weapons are ready,” Makoto announces first “Haru and I were able to find a good deal at a second hand shop here. If the point was for them to look realistic, they succeed.”   
  
“We also managed to get some extra medicines and bandages,” Haru adds cheerfully “There’s a cute little clinic about a block away from the love hotel that sells all sorts of things.”   
  
Makoto is barely able to hide the smirk on her face “Hello Kitty bandages mainly.”   
  
Ryuji winces “Dude, you want me to patch myself up with Hello Kitty?!”   
  
“If it’s a bandage, it should do the job just fine anyway,” Ann smacks Ryuji’s arm and beams “I think we’re ready. Should we go into the palace yet?”   
  
It’s at this point that everyone looks at Akira. Even Ishida, who seems to have quickly grasped that Akira is the leader.   
  
Akira thinks it over. Despite everyone looking at him, he can feel Akechi’s eyes burning on him most. He takes a deep breath. He doesn’t like their odds. It’s not like they’ve never gone into a palace before and most times they went in, they were armed but didn’t know exactly what they were going to find. What changes the game here are the fake Phantom Thieves, who haven’t made a move since they shot the principal last week and it concerns Akira that they’ve been so quiet.   
  
But they don’t have a choice. Above all other things, Akira doesn’t have the luxury of time. Most of his companions aren’t even going to be here long enough to see this through. They have lives in Tokyo and that’s the part that makes this hard to deal with.   
  
“Let’s go,” he decides, sounding far more decisive and firm than he feels as he gets up with the others and heads out into the Metaverse once again.   
  
Before the world warps and twists around him, he catches Akechi’s gaze and reads the same emotions in the eyes of the quiet, soft spoken boy beside him. Akechi is just as concerned.   
  
* * *   
  
Sitting in his office, Minagawa Shion sets his paperwork aside and glances at the small photoframe he keeps next to his computer.   
  
It’s old, chipped at the corners and faded from too much exposure to the sun and a lot of moving attempts but the picture protected inside remains the same.   
  
His eyes, deep and dark, used to draw people in. He had his mother’s hair, somewhat perfect and messy and he could do anything with it. Shion used to love it when he’d run his hand through his hair, pushing and pulling at the messy locks and never quite realising that it was perfect no matter what he did to it. Shion used to poke at the beauty spot near his eye, run his fingers along the smooth, youthful skin of his face and wonder how he’d managed to create something that...beautiful.   
  
What he misses most, he knows now, is his voice. Nobody had a voice more beautiful than his and when he sang it was the most calming thing ever. Nothing ever made Shion feel more at ease, more at peace than when that boy sang for him.   
  
But he’s gone now. That’s what they told him. They never found out what happened and they didn’t look hard enough but he’s gone.   
  
Shion feels a familiar itch crawl down his spine and he checks his roster of students. The ones who say yes. The ones who can pretend - just for a little while - that they can be as perfect, as golden, as him.   
  
Namigawa Yuya was free. He’d be doing track training at the moment and that would be perfect. He was as small, as skinny as him. He’d do.   
  
Shion goes to the intercom and calls for reception “Kadoka-san,” he says as he keeps his finger on the intercom button “Can you bring Namigawa Yuya-san to my office please?”   
  
“Certainly,” Kadoka replies, she has no idea what he does to boys when they get called into his office and she never questions it either.   
  
Shion takes his finger off the intercom and glances at the photoframe again. He slowly sets it down and takes his coat off. Yuya will do for now. For just one hour he can pretend, close his eyes and pretend that his son is still here with him.   
  
* * *   
  
The excavation site is hot and humid when the Phantom Thieves step back inside. Akira pulls at his collar uncomfortably and looks around.   
  
“It wasn’t this hot when we came here last,” Ann points out with a wince “What’s going on?”   
  
Ishida, who’s been staying awfully close to Ryuji, looks down the hall they’d been in last and frowns. It’s empty. The last time they were here, a golden statue of Namigawa Yuya had been there, frozen and golden, preserved. Now it was gone.   
  
“Where’d he go?” Ishida squeaks “Yuya-kun.”   
  
“Hey,” Ryuji starts when he realises it “That’s right, wasn’t there a statue here?”   
  
Akechi gets this really tense look on his face first before Akira realises what this probably means. He glances back at Makoto, who shakes her head and they’re the only ones who’ve figured it out.   
  
“Let’s go,” Akira says, “Crow, Skull…” he pauses and glances at Ishida “...Kid, with me, the rest take the back.”   
  
The others comply easily and everyone seems to have accepted that Ishida’s automatic code name is now Kid. Fitting, considering Ryuji was the one who chose it this time.   
  
They head deeper into the hallways and the deeper they get, the hotter and more humid it gets. The hallways start getting darker and darker with the lights placed farther and farther in between.   
  
“How does this normally work?” Ishida asks “You just head in, kick butt and force a change of heart?”   
  
“Way to simplify it,” Ryuji grumbles “We do a lot more than that, Kid.”   
  
“Actually that might be it,” Akechi adds with a small smirk, earning himself a kick from Ryuji.   
  
Akira notices the jewels, the stones, the gold embedded in the walls and it tells him that whilst Minagawa is aware that the school itself contains treasure within it’s very walls, the real treasure to him are the students.   
  
Specific students too. He’d gone after Ishida and from the looks of the boy they’d seen earlier, Minagawa tended to go after petite students. Not necessarily talented, but with just enough motivation that Minagawa can manipulate and use to his advantage.   
  
Akira also notes, as he tilts his head and watches Ishida move, that the other is actually kind of pretty. Pretty, cute and young. Whilst Ishida is still clumsy, insecure and a creepy fanboy, there’s no denying that what Minagawa probably saw in him was something he hoped to manipulate. A type of boy he was attracted to.   
  
Akechi clears his throat, dragging Akira’s eyes away from Ishida and towards him instead. The brunette gives him this arched eyebrow, as if he knows where Akira’s eyes were and he didn’t like it. It almost makes Akira want to look at Ishida again just to see if Akechi will do anything.   
  
“There,” Ryuji says, breaking his thoughts.   
  
Up ahead in the dark corridor is another statue. The group approach it and it’s another boy. Golden, frozen in what almost looks like an extremely submissive position. He’s down on his knees, his head tilted upwards and eyes wide, frightened. He, like Ishida and like Namigawa Yuya, is tiny. Appears to be younger than he probably really is, he has soft looking hair, he looks like he should be in middle school and he’s petite.   
  
Pretty, cute and young.   
  
“He’s a second year,” Ishida says with a small wince “He wins all the math competitions.”   
  
“Bet those games are rigged too,” Ryuji growls under his breath, his fist clenches at his side “Sick bastard.”   
  
“Guys,” Futaba’s voice cuts in “Shadows, five of them and they’re coming your way. They’re really strong.”   
  
“Shit,” Ryuji hisses and looks around “Do we take them?”   
  
“There’s five and they’re all strong!” Futaba scolds angrily “Hide!”   
  
Akira looks around but the excavation halls are really narrow, there aren’t many places to hide. When he hears them coming in from the left, he points to the narrow hall on their right and heads into the darkness to hide with the others.   
  
With any luck, the shadows won’t come this way.   
  
Akira crouches down low, he feels Ryuji’s hand on his back and they’re all tucked in too close as they watch five large shadows approach the golden statue. They look down at the boy and hum collectively.   
  
“Lord Minagawa wants this one next?” one asks, poking the boy in the cheek “It’s cute.”   
  
“They’re all cute and they all belong to Lord Minagawa,” another one reminds the rest with an authoritative voice “Though none will replace…”   
  
The shadows grunt in unison and pick up the golden statue. Ishida makes a small noise but is quickly muffled by Ryuji who puts his hand over his mouth.   
  
“Later Kid,” Ryuji mutters quietly “You’ll get your chance.”   
  
The shadows take him away and when they’re out of earshot, Akechi pulls himself out of the corridor first and looks down “We need to follow them,” he says “Wherever they’re taking him is probably where we need to go.”   
  
Akira nods and Ryuji helps Ishida out of the corridor as well.   
  
“They said ‘none will replace’ something,” Ryuji points out with a frown “He sees all these kids as his own treasures, what are they replacing?”   
  
‘The Megalan?” Ishida suggests “Is he using them to ride on his former glory?”   
  
“Unlikely,” Akechi replies, his hand curling around his chin in a familiar fashion, he used to do this when he was thinking as the famous detective he once was. Must be a habit. “It’s students. A particular type of boy he’s interested in. Most likely these boys are replacing another one. One he can’t control.”   
  
Ryuji growls and he’s still angry “The dude is nothing more than a sick pervert,” he mutters “The sooner we change his heart, the better.”   
  
“Yes,” Akechi agrees softly “But I’m intrigued with what he’s using them to replace. There could be someone in serious danger here. Someone we’ve overlooked.”   
  
Akira doesn’t know what to make of it but he can see the well-oiled cogs in Akechi’s head already spinning at full speed. Maybe in the past he’d had to fabricate and make cases in order to become the famous detective, but there’s no denying he never needed to do that. He’s intelligent enough on his own. If he had more faith in his own abilities, he might have realised he never needed to do the things he did last year.   
  
“Come on,” Akira says and leads the way after the shadows. Ryuji follows close with Ishida and Akechi trailing behind.   
  
They follow the shadows down a narrow, winding flight of steps and it’s only when they reach the ground underneath that they hear something. Like a soft, barely audible lullaby floating through the air, calling out to them from far away.   
  
“Music?” Ishida blinks in surprise “Is someone singing?”   
  
“Seems like it,” Akechi frowns “But I can barely hear it.”   
  
Akira has been through enough palaces to know that the treasure at the end is never the same. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the treasure in this palace can sing. Considering what Minagawa seems to view as ‘treasures’ of his own, it wouldn’t surprise Akira at all if the treasure at the end was in fact, living.   
  
They follow the shadows and as they get deeper and deeper through the corridors, the singing gets louder and louder. By the time they reach another flight of stairs, they can hear it enough to make out words.   
  
_‘....everything will be alright...come to me...I’ll take you home…’_   
  
“Dude, I don’t recognise this song,” Ryuji mutters quietly as they climb down the stairs again. They have to hold onto the walls because it’s dark, there’s no light and they can barely see where they’re going now.   
  
“It’s a lullaby,” Akechi answers “Sweet Dreams. Basically it’s about a mother who will take her child back home, nurse away everything that went wrong that day and send him to sleep with no worries.”   
  
Akira wonders how Akechi knew that when he doesn’t actually have any experience of his own. He lost his mother and was passed from foster home to foster home until finally he could take care of himself. It’s doubtful that anyone was kind enough to sing that song to Akechi.   
  
Maybe it was something he picked up in the entertainment business.   
  
“My ma can’t sing,” Ryuji points out “Apparently when she tried, I’d just cry more. Eventually she just read shit to me.”   
  
Akira can practically feel Akechi biting back a sarcastic or witty response and instead the former detective just mutters out a weak “mhmm”. He’s biting his tongue.   
  
By the time they reach the third landing, the singing is a little clearer. It’s an angelic voice, one of the most beautiful Akira has ever heard and at this rate it’s actually hard to tell if it’s a boy or a girl singing.   
  
“Wait,” Futaba’s voice breaks into their ears “I’m picking up some readings.”   
  
“Shadows?” Akechi asks and Akira feels his hand on his back, stopping him from walking.   
  
“I can’t tell yet,” Futaba replies “But be on your guard. Whatever it is, it’s powerful and it’s probably not on our side.”   
  
Ryuji huffs “Great, more shit to be wary of.”   
  
Akira pushes on ahead with the others following close behind him. As they walk deeper and deeper into the cavernous hallways, the humidity in the air gets worse. By the time they reach the halfway point, Akira can feel the sweat dripping down the back of his neck.   
  
“What is this?” Ryuji complains and pulls at his shirt “I need air!”   
  
“There’s a saferoom there,” Akechi points towards a door that seems to be wavering in and out of reality “Let’s catch our breath.”   
  
They make a beeline for it and it’s no cooler in the saferoom than it is out in the halls but at least they don’t have to worry about shadows in here. Akira feels the pull of reality and the break in the Metaverse as they all gather in the room and sit down.   
  
Makoto fans herself and shakes her head “I don’t know if we can do this,” she admits “If it’s hotter down in the lower levels, we might not be able to go down there.”   
  
“Why is it so hot?” Haru asks with a small whimper “It wasn’t this hot last time.”   
  
Akechi’s eyes go dark and so do Makoto’s but Akira knows already. Neither want to tell the others why the temperature rose. The problem is, someone has to. Akechi shakes his head.   
  
“Ishida,” he says, his dark eyes zeroing in on the boy “You said that Minagawa places his demands on the students he promotes, correct?”   
  
“Yes,” Ishida answers, wincing a little at the reminder.   
  
“Those demands,” Akechi continues ruthlessly “They include getting on your knees. Correct?”   
  
Ishida doesn’t even have to answer, everyone knows what it is.   
  
“They include lying on your back,” Akechi says “Letting him-”   
  
“Stop it,” Makoto snaps quietly “We don’t need to say it.”   
  
“Sex, both consensual and nonconsensual includes a lot of body heat,” Akechi spells it out for them and his voice is firm. There’s a conviction behind his tone but also a lot of anger. “The air we are breathing at the moment, the reason why everything is so humid and hot is because Minagawa is breathing on his students at this very moment.”   
  
Ann goes pale, Haru covers her mouth with her hands in horror.   
  
“He is using them,” Akechi explains viciously “He’s a monster. He’s destroying their lives and I don’t see why we should let him live after this.”   
  
“Because we are the Phantom Thieves but we’re not killers,” Ryuji answers back “I know you’re pissed, I’m pissed off too. I want this guy behind bars just as much as you do-”   
  
“No, I don’t want him behind bars, I want him dead,” Akechi snaps “There is nothing, literally nothing, he can do to fix all the harm he has caused.”   
  
“I understand you,” Ann tries to mediate with her hands up “But Akechi-kun, killing this man would make us as bad as he is. It would make us as bad as the fake Phantom Thieves. It’s not what we do.”   
  
Akira watches him. He’s seen Akechi angry before but this is different. This isn’t personal for him but it’s about justice and Akechi may not be the detective he once was, he may not have ties to the police anymore but he feels that justice has to be served. As someone who had ties to the police, he is also aware that even if Minagawa wakes up with a conscience, justice may not be served on him as it should be.   
  
But then who decides what kind of punishment Minagawa must endure? The courts? The victims? Akechi himself? Akira knows where he’s coming from but his friends are bringing in the points that the Phantom Thieves and he himself stand by.   
  
They’re not killers.   
  
“My best friend was hurt by Kamoshida,” Ann reminds Akechi “He threatened me, he wanted me in his bed and when I refused, he went after Shiho. I thought about death as a punishment as well but there are worse things in this world than dying. Kamoshida has to live with what he did every single day and if we steal the treasure from Minagawa, he’ll have to wake up every morning hating his own reflection. That is worse than death. He has to live with himself.”   
  
“And the victims?” Akechi challenges “They won’t walk away from this unscathed.”   
  
“There’s only so much we can do, we can’t fix everything,” Haru points out softly “For now, getting rid of the main problem - Minagawa himself - is a step in the right direction. Everything that happens afterwards will be on the adults.”   
  
Akechi leans back on the wall and takes a breath. He shakes his head but he seems resigned.   
  
“In any case,” Morgana jumps onto the table in the middle of the room “We’re not going anywhere if the humidity gets worse. We won’t be able to breathe.”   
  
“Well if the humidity is being caused by Minagawa abusing his students, the logical solution would be to stop him directly,” Makoto points out as she leans back in her chair.   
  
“Precisely,” Morgana nods “We can split up. Some of us will go and stop him directly, allowing the others to continue further into the palace without the humidity.”   
  
“I’ll go,” Ryuji volunteers right away.   
  
Yusuke shakes his head “What are you going to do? Beat him up?”   
  
“I’m a student there,” Ryuji points out with a shrug “And from the looks of it, I’m not his type. I can just go in there, pretend I’ve got a shitload of questions and distract him.”   
  
Ann looks worried and she’s not the only one but Akira has to applaud Ryuji’s neverending bravery. After all, facing Minagawa directly could go terribly wrong and he knows that. But he’s also someone who will stick his neck out for someone in danger, even if he doesn’t care for that person much. That’s the kind of person Ryuji is.   
  
“There’s safety in numbers,” Yusuke says “I’ll come with you.”   
  
“Two should do,” Morgana decides before Ann can volunteer to go with them as well “Too many people bursting in on Minagawa will make him suspicious which will make getting to the treasure a lot harder. Skull, Fox, when you leave the Metaverse, you’re going to feel tired but give it your all.”   
  
Ryuji nods “The rest of you guys just do your part too,” he advises and heads out of the room with Yusuke following close behind.   
  
When they’re gone, Makoto fans herself with her hand. She sighs “I guess we’ll know when they get to him.”   
  
Morgana hums “We’ll be ready.”   
  
Through the breaks and shifts of reality and the Metaverse, Akira can still hear the singing. Angelic, soothing and beautiful, it floats through the walls and he turns to look at Akechi. The other is still angry. Akira can still see Akechi’s mind working at full speed, trying to figure this out.   
  
For once, Akira doesn’t realise that Ann and Futaba notice his distraction with Akechi. Nor does he notice the way Makoto tenses when she sees it too. His attention is stuck on Akechi and even through his anger, Akira can read him so well.   
  
* * *   
  
“Shit,” Ryuji hisses as they head through the empty hallways of the school. By now, most of the students have gone home and at least half the teachers are gone too. The only people around are people with clubs and activities.   
  
The light is on in Minagawa Shion’s office and the closer Ryuji and Yusuke get to the door, the more they can hear a quiet whimpering.   
  
“So how are we going to do this?” Yusuke asks, his knees are shaking and his eyes are heavy with sleep but the same can be said of Ryuji. They just have to hang on and distract Minagawa long enough to let the others into the lower floors of the palace.   
  
“I’m a student here,” Ryuji shrugs “He’s the history teacher. I’ll just knock on the door and ask a fuckton of questions. Should distract him long enough.”   
  
Yusuke’s eye twitches in annoyance and he grabs Ryuji’s arm.   
  
“There is another boy in there,” he points at the door “And right at this very second, Minagawa is raping him. You really think he’ll just stop that, get dressed and deal with you long enough for the others to get to the lower floors?”   
  
“I don’t know but man, we can’t keep talking here whilst that shit is going on in the office,” Ryuji shrugs him off and marches to the door “Come on.”   
  
Ryuji slams on the door before Yusuke can stop him and for a moment, there’s no sound inside. They can hear a bit of shuffling but the whimpering stops. Ryuji waits a moment before knocking on the door again.   
  
“Minagawa-sensei,” he calls “I don’t know if you remember me but my name is Sakamoto Ryuji, I have some questions for the upcoming test and I heard you’re the guy to go to.”   
  
No answer. Yusuke hovers near Ryuji worriedly as a small sound from inside the office echoes.   
  
“Oy,” Ryuji tries again “Come on, I’m desperate! They said you’re still here!”   
  
Some muffled talking, more shuffling and when the door finally opens, Minagawa himself steps out. He’s dressed and he’s fixed himself up but Ryuji catches the sight of a boy sitting quietly in his office before Minagawa shuts the door and leaves him in the office.   
  
“Sakamoto was it?” he asks and sighs “This is a pretty bad time. Can you come again tomorrow?”   
  
“The test is tomorrow,” Ryuji reminds him and pulls off his best pleading look he can muster “Come on, please? Help me out. I’m behind on everything because I just transferred here from Tokyo and I need to do well on these tests for my university applications.”   
  
Yusuke blinks, kind of impressed. Ryuji is better at acting than Ann is.   
  
Minagawa glances at the door of his office, a decision ticking in his mind. He looks back at Ryuji and sighs heavily “You’re going to apply for university?”   
  
Yusuke and Ryuji both recognise that tone in his voice. Skeptical and they don’t miss the way Minagawa’s eyes flick up to Ryuji’s blonde hair, as if his appearance is any indication to his future plans.   
  
“Yes,” Ryuji manages through gritted teeth. Yusuke silently praises his restraint.   
  
Minagawa looks him over again and heads into the office. He glances at the boy sitting inside and nods.   
  
“We’ll continue this tomorrow,” he promises.   
  
The boy can’t get out of there fast enough. He hurries past Ryuji and Yusuke, muttering a small goodbye as he hugs his bag to his chest and disappears down the corridor. Once he’s gone, Ryuji heads in to the office with Yusuke and plops himself easily down on the chair the boy had just vacated.   
  
The way Ryuji smiles, no one would dare think he’s aware of what Minagawa had just been doing to that poor boy. It impresses Yusuke, as well as makes him fear for what Minagawa could do to Ryuji.   
  
“Who are you then?” Minagawa turns his eyes to Yusuke “You don’t look like a student here.”   
  
“He’s a friend of mine,” Ryuji explains before Yusuke can open his mouth “Just ignore him, it’ll be like he’s not even here.”   
  
Minagawa looks over Yusuke once more before reluctantly returning to his desk and pulling out the history textbooks. It’s a little amusing to Yusuke that Ryuji can be calm and fearless in front of a known rapist but at the sight of textbooks he goes green.   
  
“Well then,” Minagawa says, opening the dusty book up with a loud thunk “Let’s get started.”   
  
* * *   
  
When the humidity starts to lessen and the temperature drops, the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Akira watches Akechi’s shoulders relax just a little when they realise what this means.   
  
“Good,” Makoto decides as she gets back up onto her feet “Let’s go. We don’t know how long Ryuji will be able to distract him.”   
  
“From the readings I’m getting, I’d say we’re two floors above the treasure at best,” Futaba adds, her fingers clicking on her laptop “That singing gets louder the closer we get.”   
  
“It’s possible the treasure is the cause of the singing,” Morgana hums grimly “Considering the kind of man we’re dealing with too…”   
  
Ann looks up, confused “Is that even possible?” she asks “Can the treasure be a living thing?”   
  
“The treasure is the cause of distorted desires, it can be anything,” Morgana replies “It’s just that all of our previous targets had things to blame for their distorted desires.”   
  
Makoto’s eyes go dark “From what we know about Minagawa already, he views boys as treasures. Particularly petite, young looking boys.”   
  
Ishida shrinks and Ann pats his shoulder.   
  
“There’s also the fact that he is using these boys to replace something, or someone,” Akechi adds, his hand curled around his chin again in thought “Navi, any thoughts?”   
  
“One,” Futaba hums as she clicks away on the laptop “Minagawa used to have a son. But there isn’t much information on him, only that he was kidnapped years ago and the police declared him dead because they never found much evidence to suggest he was still alive. They dropped the case three years ago.”   
  
Haru blinks “Maybe that’s it.”   
  
It seems convenient enough. Akira heads for the door and the others follow.   
  
“Mona, Queen, Panther with me,” he declares and looks back at Akechi “The rest take the backup.”   
  
Akechi reaches forward right away and grabs Akira’s arm. He pulls him away from the door and doesn’t seem to even mind that the others are watching as he turns Akira to face him properly.   
  
“Take me with you,” Akechi tells him in a low, quiet voice “We don’t know what we’re facing down there and you’re going to need me.”   
  
Akira meets Akechi’s burning gaze and shakes his head “Back me up,” he says and it’s taking most of his energy to keep the real reason from showing in his eyes. If anyone can call him out on a lie, it’s going to be Akechi. Akira doesn’t lie often but when he does, he’s damn good at it. Nobody can read him...except the high school detective.   
  
“Joker,” Akechi’s voice is tense and so is his grip “You’re the leader and I’ll do what you say, but don’t make me watch while you head off into whatever this is.”   
  
But Akira can’t let him. Akechi’s outburst earlier proved enough to Akira. This case angers him and Akechi’s judgement usually can’t be doubted, except when his emotions are involved. That and they’re walking right into an unknown danger. Perhaps it’s selfish on Akira’s part but he doesn’t want Akechi walking into it if he can help it.   
  
“Back me up,” he says again and once again, he has to work to keep the lie up to fool even Akechi.   
  
It works.   
  
Akechi slowly lets go of his arm and steps back, allowing Akira to head out the door with Ann, Morgana and Makoto following close behind. Just before they leave the room, Makoto shoots Akechi a concerned glance and follows Akira out.   
  
When they head down the stairs and reach the next landing, the singing gets louder.   
  
_“...and I’ll bring you back to me...take your fears...take your worries...sing you to sleep…”_   
  
“I know this lullaby,” Makoto hums quietly as she follows Akira “My father used to sing it to me. To think I’d hear it here of all places.”   
  
Morgana jumps up onto Akira’s shoulder “If the treasure is the root cause of the singing, it’s fitting. This singing is beautiful.”   
  
“It is,” Ann agrees “This is the most angelic voice I’ve ever heard but...but why?”   
  
“Isn’t it obvious?” Makoto points out “It adds up if the treasure is Minagawa’s missing son. If the son is small and petite like the students he abuses, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch of the imagination to say that he might have abused his own son. To lose him must have been devastating for more than one reason. If that’s the case, he viewed him as a treasure and all these students are poor substitutes.”   
  
Ann frowns “That’s no excuse and it’s still horrible what he’s doing to these boys.”   
  
“I can only imagine what he did to his son,” Morgana sighs “Humans...sometimes they can be so despicable. Yet I still want to be one.”   
  
“Shadows ahead,” Futaba’s voice rings in their ears “You can take them though. They’re surprisingly weak.”   
  
It’s a welcome distraction from his mind and when they see them, three shadows about to pick up another golden statue, Akira attacks first. The familiar air of the fight returns to him and this is the zone he knows best. The shadows jump back, turning into their true forms and they’re kind of terrifying. Tall, thin shadows with pickaxes and white holes for eyes.   
  
Arsene is just as - if not more - unforgiving as Akira himself and everything he’s learnt as he’s come down here has only fueled Arsene more. He feels his rage rushing through his veins as if they were his own and Arsene makes short work of one of the shadows.   
  
He’s not the only one though. Beside him, Makoto’s own anger is fueled and made more powerful by her own Persona. The same can be said of Ann and Morgana and it’s not so different from when they’re fighting any shadow. Mementos is one thing but Palaces are always different. A distorted, grotesque form of desire that warped a person so much they do despicable things.   
  
In that aspect, Akira can understand Akechi’s anger.   
  
Makoto and Ann down the next shadow and the last one somehow manages to resist Morgana’s attack. It gets back up and looms dangerously over Akira. White, unfeeling eyes assessing him, dressing him up and down and pinning his weakness. The hit comes before Akira can dodge it and he’s knocked over by a blast of ice hitting him from the side.   
  
He hears the others gasp in surprise and it’s not like this is the first time he’s been knocked off his feet before. He doesn’t even realise how bad it is until he sees the look of pure horror on Makoto’s face and feels something warm and sticky running down the side of his head.   
  
Makoto finishes off the last shadow painfully. Balling it up in a nuclear blast that all but tears it in pieces and when the battle is over, Ann is the first one by Akira’s side.   
  
“Your head,” she winces and pushes Akira’s hair aside so she can see how bad it is.   
  
“That was really quite a knock,” Makoto adds, crouching down next to him “But we’re not safe here, we need another saferoom.”   
  
Futaba’s voice breaks into their heads again “I’m not reading saferooms for awhile. There might be one downstairs, he’s going to have to hang on.”   
  
“I’m fine,” Akira insists “It’s just a gash.”   
  
“It’s a hole on the side of your head,” Ann corrects him harshly “Now hold still, Mona do we have something?”   
  
The blast must have knocked out more than Akira realises because the warmth on the side of his head aches and makes his head pound. He winces and he doesn’t even have to look up when he feels someone kneeling down behind him and a familiar scent washing over his senses.   
  
Akechi’s arm comes around him from behind and a cold hand covers his gash.   
  
“Told you to take me with you,” Akechi scolds him.   
  
Akira doesn’t even have the energy to argue. He knows it won’t end well if he does. Instead he watches as Makoto digs out a bandage and hands it to Akechi who makes quick work of the gash on his head.   
  
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Makoto reminds them when Akechi’s finished and helping Akira back onto his feet “We don’t have time. We have to get downstairs.”   
  
“I’m fine,” Akira insists “Makoto’s right. We don’t have time for this.”   
  
“Then put me in the front,” Akechi tells him firmly “I’m a wild card too aren’t I? Use it.”   
  
Akira is actually really glad Akechi hadn’t been right beside him for that last blow or Akechi himself might have been hit as well. But he’s unfortunately, not wrong.   
  
“I’ll hang back with Kid and Noir,” Morgana finally volunteers “Crow, keep an eye on our leader.”   
  
Akechi seems appeased and Akira rubs at his head again before leading the way towards the stairs. Ann, Makoto and Akechi follow behind closely and just as they reach the stairs, something warps. The walls shiver and waver, like the fabric of reality is tearing.   
  
“It’s a weak area,” Futaba hums “We’re close to the treasure now.”   
  
The singing is much clearer when they get down to the next landing. It’s echoing and bouncing off the walls even as they walk through the corridors. It’s a beautiful voice, almost hauntingly so but there’s something else to the voice. Akira can’t pick out what it is but it’s almost addictive.   
  
“Suppose this voice, this treasure, is his son,” Makoto states as they walk through the halls “What then? Do we steal him?”   
  
“Don’t see why not,” Ann mutters “He’d be in better hands with us than with his own father.”   
  
Akechi glances at the gold trapped in the walls, he runs his hand along it and frowns “A school made of treasure. He sees this place as made of gold. Which means he thinks that other people would see the school itself as treasure but he values the students more.”   
  
“It means he thinks what he’s doing is alright,” Makoto growls “That he values the students. He places them above the school itself. It’s pure narcissism.”   
  
The singing is getting louder now and when they reach the last flight of stairs, Akira feels the push and pull of distortion stronger than ever before. It always feels like this near a treasure. They make it down the last flight of stairs and find themselves standing before a set of white doors. They look like normal household doors, perhaps even to a bedroom.   
  
Makoto opens them slowly to reveal the cloud-like being, hovering on top of a four poster bed with a white duvet. It’s a bedroom, Akira belatedly realises. Almost everything is white and golden. The bed, the window curtains, even the dresser and desk. Everything is white.   
  
“Innocence,” Makoto breathes in awe, watching as the cloud hovers above the bed.   
  
The singing is coming from the cloud. There’s no doubt about that now. The beautiful melody floats out like nothing Akira’s ever heard before, singing the same lullaby again and again, always in that same sad, soft voice.   
  
“Right,” Morgana sighs as he catches up to them “We’ve found the treasure and our route is secured. Shall we go back?”   
  
“We may just be able to pull this off within one day,” Haru gasps in amazement.   
  
Akechi looks doubtful “I wouldn’t start celebrating yet. We should send the calling card out tomorrow morning and get this over and done with as fast as possible. If nothing else, the calling card will get the attention of the fake Phantom Thieves - that’s when the real action is going to start.”   
  
He’s not wrong, unfortunately. Akechi is rarely wrong. But just this once, just this once Akira wishes he were.   
  
“Right then,” Morgana decides “Let’s get out of here. Anything else we need to do here, Joker?”   
  
Akira shakes his head and glances at Ishida, who is watching the cloud with an unreadable face. Haru notices his gaze as well and tilts her head “What is it?”   
  
“I’ve heard this voice before,” Ishida whispers “A long, long time ago. But...it can’t be…”   
  
Makoto picks up on it as well and frowns “Do you know who this person is?”   
  
“I think I do,” Ishida looks shaken as he turns to the others “But I had no idea...his father could be Minagawa, right?”   
  
Akira nods. There is that possibility and when one thinks about it logically, a lot of the evidence points to and makes more sense if they work on the assumption that the treasure is Minagawa’s long lost son.   
  
“What’s his name?” Haru asks gently as she can see Ishida is quite shaken by this.   
  
Ishida turns his eyes back to the cloud. It’s still singing the same lullaby and there’s conviction behind Ishida’s tone as he recognises the voice.   
  
“Sora.”   
  
* * *   
  
Landing back in the real world is a lot like falling sometimes. The Metaverse has a way of making Akira feel like he’s in a dream, like he’s walking in a place that has very little gravity, makes everything feel floaty and going back to the real world is like all that weight, all that gravity just piling back on his shoulders and making his legs shake with exhaustion the second he hits the ground again.   
  
They land back just outside the school. Akira hears the voice on his app welcoming him back to the real world as he looks around to check the others made it back alright as well.   
  
“Oh my god, that was a lot of walking,” Ann pants, her hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath.   
  
“It was,” Makoto agrees “But we did it. We might actually pull this off in time.”   
  
Akira feels himself becoming more worried about what’s going to happen after they pull this off. No matter what happens, the others still have to leave. They don’t belong in this town.   
  
Haru catches Ishida before the other falls. She looks quite shaky on her legs as well as she leans back against the school gates “Perhaps someone should go back in and grab Kitagawa-kun and Sakamoto-kun.”   
  
“Feet, won’t move,” Futaba whimpers, sliding down to sit on the ground “I don’t remember it being this hard to walk.”   
  
Ann pulls herself up and takes a deep breath.   
  
“I’ll go,” she volunteers “Maybe we should find a place to regroup.”   
  
“My apartment should suffice,” Akechi speaks weakly, he’s leaning against the school wall as well and he looks exhausted “I’ll message the address.”   
  
Makoto looks like she’s noticing Akechi’s exhaustion and it’s similar to her own. After all, she, Haru and Akechi hadn’t been in the Metaverse before today. Of course the first time was always going to be more exhausting.   
  
Ann hobbles inside the school with Morgana as Akira goes to help Futaba up first. He takes her hands, intending to help her stand but she clearly has more energy than she let on when she turns him around and jumps up onto his back. Akira sort of just lets her and reaches down to help Makoto and Haru up as well.   
  
When Akechi turns around, Futaba is on Akira’s back, Makoto has his right arm and Haru is clinging to his left.   
  
Akechi gives him this one unimpressed raised eyebrow before leading the way down the street.   
  
“Let’s go,” he says grumpily “I don’t want to be caught out here whilst I’m this tired.”   
  
Akira watches his back, hunched up from irritation and the almost drunken way in which he walks. It makes him smile and he doesn’t realise that the girls notice the way he looks at Akechi. Nor does he catch the way Futaba shoots a worried look at Makoto as the group follow.   
  
Akechi’s apartment turns out to be a relatively modern looking building. As he leads them in through the lobby, they’re almost immediately confronted by a tall, older looking man with dark hair that flops over his head like a mop. His eyes are even darker and he’s not Japanese. He’s about a head taller than both Akechi and Akira and looks down at them with a small raised eyebrow.   
  
“Akechi-kun,” he hums as he looks over the group “You have friends?”   
  
“Everyone, this is my landlord,” Akechi introduces the man “Ariga Johnny-san.”   
  
“Please just call me Johnny,” the man grins and there’s a lazy, easy casualness to him that’s easy to warm up to. From his leather jacket all the way down to his dusty blue jeans. He brings out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes at his forehead before turning to Akechi “Now, kid,” he hums “You know my rules on houseguests in your apartment.”   
  
“My apologies,” Akechi says and this is his adult mode talking. Akechi does know how to handle adults but something tells Akira that Johnny is a little different from your standard adult. “I didn’t have enough time for a proper warning and they won’t be long.”   
  
Johnny looks at Akira in particular and he must seem strange with three girls hanging off him but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he turns back to Akechi and sighs “Alright then, boy.”   
  
He wanders off and when he’s gone, that pleasant, fake smile is wiped off Akechi’s face so fast. He leads them to the elevator and takes them up to the fifth floor where his apartment is number 506.   
  
It’s not a large apartment. In fact it’s pretty tiny with one kitchen that doubles as a living room if you watch TV from the dining table. He has a door adjacent from the entrance that leads to a little closet with a washing machine and the door next to it is the bathroom. Akechi leans over to close the door to his bedroom and gestures to the kitchen table.   
  
“I’m afraid I don’t have couches,” he tells them as they climb off Akira and sit down at the table instead.   
  
“Wow,” Ishida murmurs, sitting down with Haru “Your place is nice.”   
  
“It’s small but it’s only me living in it,” Akechi corrects him as the doorbell rings. He goes to let in the rest and Akira leans against the wall. There are only six chairs at the table and the others look far more tired than he is.   
  
Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke and Morgana enter and when everyone is spread out in the kitchen, Akechi rubs at his eyes.   
  
“So,” Ann breaks the sleepy silence “What’s the plan?”   
  
“I haven’t felt this exhausted in years,” Makoto admits quietly “Is the Metaverse stronger?”   
  
The others nod and she rubs at her head “We’re going to have to work fast. Now that we know where the treasure is, we need to send out the calling card tomorrow morning.”   
  
“Yusuke, Ryuji and Futaba,” Akira decides “You guys can handle that.”   
  
“Roger that,” Futaba yawns and closes her laptop where she’s almost curled up at the end of the table “I’m totally out, I think we need to go home, leader.”   
  
Akechi twitches again at the reminder that Futaba is in Akira’s house and again, Akira’s the only one who notices this. The others only yawn their agreements.   
  
“If I get a nap in now,” Yusuke says mid-yawn “I’ll be able to work on the calling card tonight.”   
  
“I’m with you there,” Ryuji agrees and there’s a nod that nobody but Yusuke himself notices. The nod makes the blue haired boy grin happily as it’s permission to sleep at Ryuji’s place again.   
  
“Alright,” Makoto sighs “Everyone get some sleep, we’ll be on the group chat tonight to figure out plans for tomorrow. Whatever comes, we’ve got to be ready.”   
  
It almost feels like traversing Minagawa’s palace was the practice run and the real stuff begins tomorrow. Nobody says it, but the fact that they don’t really know what they’re up against is concerning. It’s not like this is a shadow they can take down with their Personas, someone came up and shot the principal in the head with a gun. It’s a totally different playing field.   
  
Yet at the same time, they can’t ignore it now.   
  
Haru, Makoto and Ann get up first to leave. They yawn their goodbyes as they shuffle out the door. Ryuji gets this sort of resigned look on his face and sighs.   
  
“Come on Yusuke,” he mutters. Yusuke beams happily and follows him out as well.   
  
Ishida still looks disturbed by what he’d seen that day but he’s like the others. There’s a determination in his eyes, a decision that he will not let this rest that says he’s just as much a Phantom Thief as the others. His conviction is in the right place and he nods to Akira before he heads out as well.   
  
Morgana hops into Akira’s bag and Futaba leans down to pick it up along with her laptop. She turns to him “Shall we go?”   
  
“Hang back a bit,” Akechi finally speaks and looks at Akira “I’ve got something I need to tell you.”   
  
Futaba looks at Akechi for a moment and heads out first with Morgana. When she closes the door behind her, Akira turns to look at Akechi.   
  
The brown haired boy looks tired but there’s something else to it now. He pushes himself off the wall and walks around the table to where Akira is and for once, Akira can’t read the look in his eyes. Akechi stops in front of him and reaches a hand up, he pushes Akira’s hair aside and his eyes flick up as he examines the healing gash on the side of his head.   
  
“Looks alright,” Akechi breathes. His fingertips are warm and send all sorts of confusing sparks through Akira’s body. He wonders if Akechi knows what he’s doing.   
  
“You’re not feeling dizzy or anything, are you?” Akechi asks, eyes flicking back down to meet Akira’s and Akira is so concentrated on the feeling of Akechi’s fingertips that he almost misses the question entirely.   
  
He shakes his head and Akechi gets this confused look for a moment before a sudden realisation makes him pull his fingers away. Akira misses them immediately.   
  
“Well…” Akechi clears his throat and takes a safe step back. It’s too far away, Akira doesn’t know why but he doesn’t like it.   
  
Akechi’s avoiding his eye contact now. He’s looking down at his feet and it’s so unlike the normal, composed boy Akira knows. It’s new and not entirely unwelcome. Akira likes it when Akechi shows he’s somewhat human. His real self, hidden underneath the crowd-pleasing smile, is unsure of himself, shy and even a little insecure. It’s such a contrast that Akira wonders how he manages to hide that side of him and show a smile worthy of the TV screens when inside he’s really different.   
  
“Get some sleep,” Akira advises and heads towards the door. He just reaches it when Akechi answers him.   
  
“I can’t sleep,” he mutters so quietly that Akira almost doesn’t hear him.   
  
Akira remembers the night before. How he’d had so much trouble sleeping and it had confused the hell out of him. It was just like normal, he had Morgana on his bed, he’d slept plenty of times like that but last night had been difficult.   
  
He hadn’t realised it had been difficult for Akechi to fall asleep too.   
  
He’s about to answer when the door opens and Futaba pokes her head out.   
  
“Akira,” she says “Come on, I’m dying here and Morgana fell asleep in the bag. He weighs a ton.”   
  
Akechi isn’t looking at him anymore. Akira doesn’t know what to say, he lets Futaba drag him out and the last thing he sees before the door closes is Akechi alone. Always alone. The door closes on his tiny frame and Akira follows Futaba out into the air outside.   
  
The pull of sleep is itching at his eyes and he’s exhausted but when he gets home and leaves Morgana to sleep in his bag, he lies on his bed and tries to sleep.   
  
He can’t.   
  
Akechi’s figure, alone and tiny haunts his mind and Akira closes his eyes. He tries his hardest but sleep doesn’t come.   
  
* * *   
  
**Ryuji:** Calling Card finished! Only took us three hours…   
  
**Yusuke:** That was your fault. You kept rejecting all the ideas I had.   
  
**Ann:** Now I’m worried…   
  
**Ryuji:** It’s fine. It’s perfect. We gotta show up those fake Phantom Thieves and this will get their attention!   
  
**Yusuke:** He’s not wrong. It is a work of art...if I do say so myself.   
  
**Makoto:** So long as it works.   
  
**Ryuji:** It will!   
  
**Haru:** How is everyone feeling?   
  
**Makoto:** Tired, but with the strength of the Metaverse, it’s no wonder.   
  
**Ryuji:** This ain’t my first time in the new Metaverse so I’m not that bad. Must be getting used to it.   
  
**Yusuke:** Our leader is mysteriously absent from this conversation…   
  
**Futaba:** He hasn’t come out of his room yet. Akechi’s not answering either.   
  
**Makoto:** Maybe they’re still asleep.   
  
**Haru:** Akira did get hurt…   
  
**Ryuji:** He’s tough, he’s dealt with worse. Anyway, Navi, I’ll leave the rest to you.   
  
**Futaba:** Leave it to me! That sicko will be hit with the stick of truth before he even realises what hit him!   
  
**Yusuke:** But if he doesn’t realise what he’s been hit by, how will it work?   
  
**Futaba:** …   
  
**Yusuke:** And if he does realise what hit him, isn’t that the point of the calling card? To make the subject aware of their own desires by calling them out on it?   
  
**Futaba:** YOU KNOW NOTHING INARI SNOW!

**Akechi:** This is the team that foiled my plans and almost killed me? I’m so embarrassed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Updates are getting longer in between but I never promised to be a thorough updater. That's the worst part about me as a writer I think. Tokyo is still hot, but I also found out that Hokkaido is a very nice place to be in the summer so if anyone reading is actually dying from the heat in Japan, go to Hokkaido. It's nice up there ;)  
> Yes, extra points if anyone can spot the cameo appearance!


	6. Loki

**4/20 - Wednesday**  
  
The familiar, floating sense of the Velvet Room was what woke Akira up. He opens his eyes and feels the familiar velvet couch underneath him as he slowly sits up to Igor’s interested eyes. On the other couch, Akechi is looking troubled but awake.  
  
“You’re finally up,” Lavenza speaks in the eerie, lofty way she does “I was beginning to worry.”  
  
“We are on the dawn of a new sense of change,” Igor says, his hands coming together so he can perch his chin on top. His eyes are as sharp as ever, watching both Akira and Akechi so intently it’s as if he can read their minds “Look sharp. Things are on the move and if the other Phantom Thieves don’t know you’re here, they will now.”  
  
Akechi leans back in his seat and he still looks like he has a lot on his mind. So does Akira but he can’t even begin to move the thoughts in his head to words he can say. The fake Phantom Thieves, someone shooting the principal in the head, Minagawa abusing his students and that’s not even the half of it. Akira can’t even think of how he can talk about all of this.  
  
“There’s another pressing matter at hand, however,” Lavenza says, eyeing both boys “You two. Your inability to sleep is hindering the works of the Phantom Thieves.”  
  
“I am trying,” Akechi replies, tone slightly irritated from lack of sleep and exhaustion “Clearly since we’re here, we must both finally be unconscious.”  
  
“Yes, but you should have been here hours ago,” Lavenza tells them “Which means you’re not sleeping even when your body cries out for it. Do you know the cause?”  
  
Akechi looks at Akira and it’s clear he has a few ideas. That detective mind is whirring at full speed again. The fact that he doesn’t say anything tells Akira that he’s not willing to speak his mind here. Not in front of Igor and Lavenza.  
  
Akira wonders if Lavenza can read their minds anyway. Both she and Igor have always been more powerful, knowledgeable and even in some instances, able to predict the most likely future. It wouldn’t surprise him if they already know what’s causing their inability to sleep.  
  
“Please try to find a solution,” Lavenza continues softly “You are both the wild cards. Both tricksters under our care. But you’re also human, you cannot hope to accomplish much if you do not take care of your basic needs.”  
  
“Try to eat well while you’re at it,” Igor encourages them with a grin underneath his exceedingly long nose “You’re both growing boys after all.”  
  
“I’ll take your advice into consideration,” Akechi replies humbly “Now then, was there anything else?”  
  
Lavenza looks like she wants to say something. Akira notices the way her eyes flicker from Akechi to Akira and back again, like she has something clear in her mind but she just doesn’t know whether or not she should point it out. Eventually she decides on silence and shakes her head “Well then,” she sighs “Return to your rest. We will be watching you both closely.”  
  
Akira pushes himself to lie down. He turns onto his side and watches Akechi do the same. The brunette boy takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He’s shut Akira out again Ignoring him deliberately and something about that hurts.  
  
Lavenza smiles at him and Akira closes his eyes. He wonders what she was going to say.  
  
* * *  
  
Putting her coffee cup down on the table, Ann lifts her eyes and smiles at her old friend on the other side. They’re busy. They’re going to be busy for quite some time by the looks of it and once this calling card is officially sent out, it’s going to get worse.  
  
Which is precisely why she pinpointed this small open time to meet her again.  
  
“Ann,” Shiho says in that soft tone Ann can only associate with her “Are you okay?”  
  
There’s too much going on and if Ann really considers that after the calling card is out, and the fake Phantom Thieves may come after them, it’s really not okay but Shiho isn’t supposed to know about any of that. Shiho is the one who lives outside this world and Ann is kind of grateful for that.  
  
Ann’s life may never be normal ever again because of this - and she’s happy about it, the Phantom Thieves gave her strength - but Shiho is different. Shiho doesn’t need personas and metaverses and all the shit that comes with saving the world when they don’t even know they’re being saved.  
  
“Ann?” Shiho prompts and Ann jumps, a little startled.  
  
She grins wide, her positive look, optimistic smile. The one she shows in magazines even on days when she’d rather cry. Because she is Takamaki Ann, she’s positive and upbeat...especially in front of Shiho, who needs her to be strong.  
  
“I’m fine!” she chirps and takes another sip of her coffee “I just wanted to see you this morning, it’s been so long and I was so worried. When I heard about the shooting...oh Shiho are you alright?”  
  
Shiho shrugs and looks down a little shyly “I’m fine, Ann. To be honest, a lot of things have been happening at school...the murder of the principal was the only one that was publicised.”  
  
Because it had been so high profile, the media had eaten it up and now all of Japan knew about it. But sadly, as high profile as it was, it was losing focus. People were moving on which to both Ann and Shiho, felt wrong on so many levels. The principal being shot in the head in front of an assembly of students and teachers is not something you just forget about the next week.  
  
Yet this school is and it’s wrong.  
  
You can’t just add ‘Principal was shot in assembly’ to the history of the school and carry on. Yet no matter how wrong it feels, Ann doesn’t know what the students should be doing. The police are still investigating, teachers are still getting people coming in for counselling, what else are they supposed to do when nobody knows who did it?  
  
“They haven’t called an assembly since it happened,” Shiho says quietly, her fingers tapping lightly on her coffee cup “I think they’re afraid the same thing is going to happen. There have been more security guards on the grounds as well.”  
  
Still doesn’t stop the monster teacher within, Ann thinks. But Shiho doesn’t know anything about that.  
  
Shiho lifts her eyes and smiles “I saw you the other day,” she says quietly “With Sakamoto-kun. Are you…?”  
  
“Ryuji?” Ann blinks, she recognises the look on Shiho’s face right away and laughs it off “No, we’re just friends.”  
  
Shiho looks very confused for a moment there, her eyes betraying that she hadn’t been anticipating that answer. Ann may lie to her about things that Shiho doesn’t need to know but the subject of dating and things like that - whilst they’d never had this conversation before - was not something Ann had to lie about.  
  
“I thought…” Shiho taps on her coffee cup a little and shrugs “I always thought you two were closer than that.”  
  
Ann laughs it off but she feels weird. It’s true there has always been something that endeared her closer to Ryuji than to the other Phantom Thieves but she thought that was mainly because she’d known him the longest. Of everyone in the group, Ryuji was the one she’d known most. Even if it was just that they’d gone to the same middle school.  
  
“Is it so unbelievable?” Shiho asks and Ann hates how Shiho’s eyes, quiet and almost omnipotent, see right through Ann all the time “You just seem...different around him.”  
  
“I’m always around him and Akira,” Ann reminds her with a large grin that hides how weird she feels about this subject “There’s others too but...we’re all friends.”  
  
Are they? Ann is second guessing herself now. Granted she plays around more with Ryuji, she finds it easier to get angry and snap at him but if Ryuji wasn’t so friggin dumb all the time, she wouldn’t have to.  
  
Unbidden, she thinks about the morning she woke up in Ryuji’s living room. Ryuji’s mother had given her a blanket and was just on her way out for work. Ann had watched Ryuji sleeping, snoring on Ishida’s stomach and she wonders why she’d watched him more than Yusuke - who looked amusing sprawled out on the floor.  
  
She doesn’t even watch Akira as much as she watches Ryuji and he’s the one everyone watches.  
  
They have that in common. Akira and Shiho, they both see people, see right through them and zero in on what they want, what they’re really saying. There’s no bullshitting either of them.  
  
Ann isn’t bullshitting Shiho but the way the dark haired girl looks at her tells her that Shiho doesn’t believe a word she says when she insists that Ryuji is just a friend.  
  
Ann swallows hard and shakes her head “We’ve just known each other longer. He and Akira were there for me when…”  
  
A slight shadow passes over Shiho’s face and she nods “I’m glad,” she says, tone quiet and almost strangled at the reminder that once upon a time, she’d felt like there was nothing left for her. It’s a dark feeling and it comes back every now and then, only now she’s strong enough to handle it.  
  
Most of the time.  
  
“I’m glad they were there for you,” Shiho tells her “They’re both good people. Kurusu-kun and Sakamoto-kun.”  
  
That, at least, is something Ann can really agree with. She nods and smiles fondly at the thought of them. Her two closest friends after Shiho. Sure, she can hang out with Yusuke at art galleries, she can eat crepes with Makoto in Shibuya or go to movies with Haru or - god forbid - the horror-loving Futaba but there’s something there between her, Akira and Ryuji.  
  
That’s what made it harder when Akira went away and Ryuji followed. Ann had been smiles for Ryuji, she’d been happy for him and told him to go and keep their leader company but on the inside, she couldn’t help but feel slightly abandoned.  
  
Because in a way, she hadn’t foreseen that Akira would be far more important to Ryuji than Ann. Maybe he hadn’t thought about it that way or maybe Ryuji just didn’t want Akira to be the only one not in Tokyo but the feelings of loss and loneliness were still there. Especially with Haru and Makoto graduated and in university.  
  
“Ann,” Shiho asks “Are you okay?”  
  
It’s the same question and Ann knows she’s supposed to be the girl who smiles, who remains positive and hopeful and optimistic but she can’t do it. She’s thinking about all these things now and she hadn’t missed how Yusuke had been wearing one of Ryuji’s shirts yesterday. Nobody had said it and Ann knew she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. It hadn’t slipped past Makoto, Futaba or Akira yesterday.  
  
Ryuji was the only reason none of them had said anything. He’d get red-faced and embarrassed and as fun as it was to poke at Ryuji and make him stutter, it was at the cost of Yusuke.  
  
“Shiho,” Ann continues “Do you know much about the Phantom Thief calling cards that have been showing up? I heard from Ryuji that there have been calling cards.”  
  
“Blue ones,” Shiho nods “They call themselves The Phantom Thieves of Hearts...kind of like the phenomenon I heard was going around Tokyo. People at school who got those cards...well they didn’t have a change of heart. Instead they seemed to have completely lost heart.”  
  
“What happens to the victim once they receive the calling card?” Ann asks and this is important “When the Phantom Thieves sent out a calling card in Tokyo, the victim would often shut themselves in for a little while, then come out and confess their sins. Let the world know all the horrible things they’ve done. What do these ones do?”  
  
Shiho blinks “You think they’re a different kind of Phantom Thief?”  
  
“From what I’ve heard, the Phantom Thieves in Tokyo were all about justice. That was what happened to Kamoshida. He received a calling card before he confessed in assembly. But these ones…?”  
  
“Yes,” Shiho nods “These ones are different. Victims who receive the calling card often begin to act out. Most hiding, going quiet, not coming to class before…” she trails off, her face going pale “I’ve seen that look in their eyes and I know it because I had that same look. The feeling that nothing is worth it, nothing is holding you here anymore. They had that same look before they…”  
  
Ann reaches over to take her hand and Shiho smiles bravely “I’ll never falter again, Ann,” she promises and it’s not just about seeing other people attempting and committing suicide. It’s about Shiho never losing her footing again, about holding onto life no matter what goes through her head. All the dark thoughts, the feelings of worthlessness that feels more like a wet, suffocating blanket, she’s stronger now. She can handle it.  
  
“I’m always here,” Ann reminds her “So is Ryuji and Akira. If you need help, they’re there.”  
  
Shiho smiles. She squeezes Ann’s hand and there’s that look again. The one that tells Ann she’s reading her mind.  
  
“It’s okay if you do like him,” she teases and that smile on her is brilliant. Ann thinks she doesn’t mind the teasing so long as Shiho can smile like that “Brains aren’t everything, are they?”  
  
Ann laughs and shakes her head “I’m going to tell him you said that,” she threatens lightly as she finishes her coffee.  
  
Shiho giggles and leans back in the booth “Tell him,” she says “Be sure to also tell him I give this union my full blessing.”  
  
They laugh and smile now but Shiho doesn’t know and Ann does. It’s not that simple. It hasn’t been that simple for awhile now.  
  
* * *  
  
Yusuke awakes to the scent of breakfast on a tray.  
  
It takes him a couple of seconds to even remember he’s on Ryuji’s bed but when he recognises the familiar, messy surroundings and the sight of the blonde sitting at the end of the bed looking over his phone, he can’t help the way his heart expands and he finds it hard to breathe just for a moment.  
  
Sakamoto Ryuji is so...beautiful. Not in the typical way either. Contrary to what the blonde thinks about women, he’s not the kind who grants a second and third look in the street. Most people actually avoid him if they can. They think he’s a troublemaker, a yankee, a boy who’d sooner bully someone than help them out and for the most part they’re probably right but there’s a well hidden side to Ryuji that Yusuke respects and loves. It’s that side, that hidden compassionate side, the one that rushes to the aid of others, gets angry for them, that’s the side that makes him beautiful and what’s better is that it’s not obvious to anyone who looks at him and doesn’t know him.  
  
It’s like a well hidden jewel, only for those worthy enough to look deeper into him.  
  
Ryuji glances up and smiles when he notices Yusuke is awake. He pats the tray between them.  
  
“Ma made breakfast,” he says and puts his phone in his pocket.  
  
Yusuke sits up slowly and registers the tray. There’s two steaming bowls of rice with miso soup, a small salad and a selection of salmon, tuna and rolled egg.  
  
“My ma started working in a hotel,” Ryuji explains as he hands Yusuke some disposable chopsticks “Pay’s better than the job she had in Tokyo at least and she’s gotten into making these kinds of breakfasts lately.”  
  
“Sounds ideal,” Yusuke grins and he digs into the rice first.  
  
They eat in relative silence for awhile. Both of them still slowly waking up to the morning and the reality of what they’ll have to do today and it’s not until Yusuke has finished the last of his miso soup that he notices the look on Ryuji’s face.  
  
It’s not hard to read the blonde. He’s pretty open with his emotions and this one tells Yusuke he’s got something on his mind.  
  
Yusuke contemplates opening the subject up but decides against it. Knowing Ryuji, it won’t stay silent in his mind forever. He waits and sure enough, two seconds later, Ryuji looks up.  
  
“Hey,” he speaks “Akechi...you know, he said that after today, things are going to change. The fake Phantom Thieves will probably see the calling card...they’ll know we’re here. We’ll change that guy’s heart...and then you guys go back to Tokyo.”  
  
There it is. The cause for concern.  
  
“We have to,” Yusuke reminds him gently, avoiding adding the part where he actually doesn’t want to return to Tokyo.  
  
“I know,” Ryuji rubs the back of his neck, a nervous habit Yusuke has come to associate with only him “It’s probably safer for all of you if you do leave for Tokyo...but…”  
  
It worries him. Yusuke knows this well enough because it worries all of them. Last year had been so different. They’d all been together. All of them had helped each other through this and now they can’t. Now most of them live in a different city and although the danger is here, they can’t help.  
  
Makoto and Haru have university. Yusuke and Ann are in their last year of high school and changing schools now is pointless. The only reason why Futaba gets away with it is because she isn’t actually in school. She probably should be but with her brains…  
  
The point is, they can’t be here. No matter how much they want to.  
  
“Ryuji,” Yusuke breaks the silence softly and looks at the blonde “You know that all you and Akira have to do is say you need us, and we’ll come running.”  
  
“I know,” Ryuji mutters and shakes his head “But it’s not so simple anymore, is it? It’s not like before. We can’t just catch a twenty minute train to Shibuya and meet up on the accessway. It’s...different. I’m not even sure I want you guys here. If those fake Phantom Thieves had anything to do with the shooting of the principal, then that’s serious.”  
  
Yusuke raises an eyebrow at him “What? More serious than getting mixed up with the yakuza like Kaneshiro? More serious than risking Akira’s life on the chance that he’d be able to talk some sense into Nijima Sae and somehow avoid Akechi killing him?”  
  
“Yeah okay,” Ryuji concedes “But this is different. We’re different. The Metaverse is different. Everything’s changed and...I’m torn between wanting you to stay and fight this with me and then wanting you to leave and save yourself….mostly, I want you to leave and save yourself.”  
  
It’s sometimes so easy to read Ryuji. Perhaps that’s what Yusuke likes about him. Some things are so complicated and it takes Yusuke ages to decipher it’s meaning. To sort through his sheltered upbringing and understand how complex the world really is. But Ryuji...he gives him a break from having to figure him out because Ryuji is right there. Out in the open. He says what he thinks and it’s a refreshing change.  
  
Yusuke has to sigh. He’s not used to seeing Ryuji torn up and indecisive about something. He leans forward and thinks nothing of the way he puts his hand on Ryuji’s arm.  
  
“Just ask and we’ll be here,” he promises.  
  
Ryuji glances down at Yusuke’s hand on his arm, he looks back up and smiles. It’s the kind of smile that reaches his eyes and Yusuke likes it. He can tell Ryuji feels better now.  
  
Yusuke wishes he could stay. That he could be around Ryuji and Akira all the time. But the reality was that Akira was always given to them on borrowed time. He was always going to come back to this town. The twist was that Ryuji had followed without a second thought and Yusuke wonders why it took losing Ryuji to make him realise he had feelings for this boy.  
  
“We better get going,” Ryuji prompts him out of his daydreams “Futaba will have sent out the calling card now. We’ve gotta be ready.”  
  
* * *  
  
Ishida keeps his head down as he bows to the teacher on duty and makes his way in through the gates with the morning throng of students. His light eyes scan the ground before him as he follows them up the stairs and in through the entrance.  
  
It’s only when he enters the halls that he notices the change in atmosphere. Students aren’t walking. They’re staring and whispering amongst each other. Ishida looks up and sees the large posters lining every single inch of the walls. It’s not a calling card, it’s a calling poster. Red and proudly displaying the Phantom Thieves logo.  
  
Despite the fact that he knew it was coming, Ishida almost can’t believe his eyes.  
  
The true Phantom Thieves. They’re here. He’s one of them. It sort of hits him all at once as he looks over the enormous posters. Black background contrasted by the white writing next to the logo.  
  
‘ _We’re onto you,’_ it reads _‘Minagawa Shion, the history teacher with a dark past and even darker present. Guilty of the sin of lust, we will take your heart and force your confession. Your reign of terror and secrets will soon end. By, The Real Phantom Thieves.’_  
  
_“Oh my god, look!”_ one student whispers _“It’s red!”_  
  
_“The real ones? From Tokyo?!”_  
  
_“Then...were the ones before, the blue ones, were they not the real ones?”_  
  
_“I’m so confused…”_  
  
Ishida listens to the whispers all around him and turns his eyes back to the posters. The splash of red colours the black background and white text, bringing back to him every memory he had of watching, of cheering for the Phantom Thieves when they were active in Tokyo.  
  
Now they’re here.  
  
He subtly scans the hallway but everyone basically looks the same. Surprised, whispering amongst each other, he can feel an equal sense of fear and excitement amongst the students as they realise something is about to change and Minagawa happens to be in the middle of it.  
  
“Who put these here?!” demands a loud voice. The students scatter quickly as they realise it’s Minagawa staring at the posters in disbelief. He tears one off the wall and waves it around “Who did this?!”  
  
The students head off to their classes, all of them avoiding eye contact. Ishida watches as Minagawa reads over the poster and scrunches it in his hand, furious and enraged. He storms off and Ishida feels something, a heightened sense of awareness that as much as the Phantom Thieves are onto Minagawa, Minagawa in turn is now very much aware of them.  
  
“That’s his sense of security,” Morgana explains later when Ishida describes what he saw over lunch break. They’re all sitting around Akira’s desk. Morgana is just barely peeking his cat head out from under the desktop. Ryuji is sitting on Akira’s desk as usual and Akechi looks like he’s zoning out at his desk. Akira looks fairly tired too, but he’s listening.  
  
“Now that Minagawa knows we’re coming for him, his security is up,” Morgana continues “Now he’s aware of us and now, the treasure has materialised.”  
  
Ishida nods, he vaguely understands “So...the cloudy thing won’t be a cloud anymore.”  
  
“Precisely,” Morgana flicks his tail against Akira’s stomach “Today is the only day we can get in there and steal the treasure.”  
  
Akechi leans forward “I scanned students reactions as I came in,” he says “But nobody looked particularly different. Did you catch anything?”  
  
“Same thing when I got in,” Ryuji mutters “If the fake Phantom Thieves go to this school, they’re good at acting surprised.”  
  
“Maybe we did catch them off guard?” Akira offers. Akechi shoots him a doubtful look but says nothing on the matter.  
  
Ishida hums “So what happens now?”  
  
“We go in the second school’s out,” Ryuji hums “Go in, get the treasure - probably kick his ass for being such a dick - and get out before the palace collapses.”  
  
“If the fake Phantom Thieves make their move, we won’t know when,” Akechi adds, his hand fondling his chin as it does when he’s thinking. So that’s not just a detective gimmick. He hums in thought “We’d best be on our guard. Once the others leave, we’ll really be on our own. We don’t know what we’re up against.”  
  
Ryuji’s face darkens at the thought of the others leaving but he nods in agreement and taps at the corner of Akira’s desk under him. “Yeah,” he mumbles “We’ll really be…”  
  
Akira says nothing. He looks up and spots Shiho at her desk. She’s looking over a book and when she feels his eyes on the back of her head, she turns to look at him. Ishida watches as Akira wordlessly gets up and leaves the group to talk to Shiho instead.  
  
Ryuji blinks in surprise “Oh?” he mumbles “What’s that about?”  
  
Akechi looks very confused, he’s watching the back of Akira’s head and his expression is very unreadable. Akira leans down to talk to her quietly and his back is to them so they can’t even make out the words of what he’s saying.  
  
“That guy is a puzzle,” Morgana sighs.  
  
Ishida quietly agrees.  
  
* * *  
  
There’s a heightened sense of danger when they enter the Palace again. Akira senses it right away and it’s a slight relief that this part is at least familiar. Maybe other parts of the Metaverse have changed but this remains the same. That sense of fear, of defensiveness the victim has before the thieves take his heart, that hasn’t changed. He pulls his red gloves on tight and glances around at the others around him.  
  
Makoto arms herself “Right,” she says “Let’s finish this.”  
  
They don’t need any further prompting as they rush into the site and start making their way down. Akira directs Makoto in the front along with Haru. They’re dangerous when they’re together and as he suspects, they take out most of the shadows they find there with hardly any input from the others.  
  
As they get lower and lower, the singing begins and the group pause.  
  
“The treasure,” Futaba says in their ears “There’s something different about it.”  
  
“Of course there is,” Ryuji mutters darkly “It sings.”  
  
“That’s not it,” Futaba sounds confused “Joker, stay on your guard. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”  
  
The group press on, because they have no choice now and when they reach the second to last floor, Akira pushes both Makoto and Haru behind himself to heal. Morgana jumps onto his shoulder and Akechi joins his side as they make their way down the last flight of stairs.  
  
The singing is so clear now, bouncing and echoing off the walls, a perfect melody.  
  
They’re barely down the stairs when they come face to face with another. But it’s not a shadow, it’s not Minagawa either. This person is Akira’s height and like the thieves, his face is hidden behind a mask. He’s thin, tall with a red coat that drapes over his body and a hood that covers the majority of his head, hiding his hair. Underneath is a black shirt and dark jeans with chains wrapped around both legs. His hands are covered with red gloves, just like Akira.  
  
He lifts a gun and points it at Akira’s head.  
  
“Well,” he hums “The Real Phantom Thieves. Didn’t expect you lot to come in and fuck up my pretty little arrangement here.”  
  
“You would be the fake Phantom Thieves, I take it,” Akechi growls and he’s as close to Akira as he can get with a gun pointed at his head.  
  
Akira doesn’t move. He doesn’t raise his hands either. He watches the other with sharp eyes and tilts his head “Sorry about that,” he hums “Tell me, are you guarding Minagawa or did you come here to finish the job yourself?”  
  
The assailant cocks the gun and presses it against Akira’s forehead. Behind him, Akira hears Ann’s little gasp of concern but he doesn’t move. He can feel Ryuji shaking with rage behind him. Akechi’s fear is radiating off him but Akira somehow manages to keep his cool.  
  
The other man seems to notice the steely look in his eyes, the way he doesn’t flinch and he smirks “Well, you’re as cool as I always imagined you’d be.”  
  
Akira holds his gaze and the man shakes his head “You’re in way over your head, Phantom Thieves. Should have stayed where you belonged. This town is mine.”  
  
“Not for much longer,” Akira replies, ignoring Makoto’s hiss of ‘don’t antagonise him!’  
  
The barrel of the gun is pressed harder against Akira’s forehead and he doesn’t miss the quiet, terrified noise that Akechi makes. Akira meets the eyes of the man in front of him and steels himself “So what do you want?”  
  
The man smirks “Perceptive,” he remarks.  
  
“You’d have pulled the trigger already if you didn’t want something from him,” Akechi reveals. It’s clear in his eyes he’d known all along that was why Akira was still alive but the fear in his eyes was still present.  
  
The man in front of them smiles “Call me Loki,” he introduces himself “I just wanted to see it for myself. The ‘real’ Phantom Thieves.”  
  
“We are the real ones,” Morgana hisses from where he’s still sitting on Akira’s shoulder “It’s you who’ve been taking our name and dirtying it.”  
  
“Came in handy too,” Loki smiles “A name people already recognise. With it, people took us seriously.”  
  
Us. There’s more than one of them. Of course there is.  
  
Loki turns to him “So what do I call you?”  
  
“Joker,” Akira answers and Loki shakes his head.  
  
“Your real name,” he demands.  
  
Akira doesn’t answer. He shakes his head and Loki presses the barrel harder against his forehead. If he doesn’t shoot, there’s at least going to be a pink mark the shape of a circle when this is over.  
  
“I will shoot your brains out,” he threatens.  
  
“Do it,” Akira challenges.  
  
“Oi!” Ryuji hisses behind him “Don’t piss him off!”  
  
But the shot never comes. Instead Loki looks amused. He steps back but keeps the gun pointed at Akira as he seems to have deduced that the others are not going to make a move so long as Akira’s life is under threat.  
  
“I’ll see you soon,” Loki promises “Joker.”  
  
Right out of one of those films where the bad guy disappears in a puff of smoke, so too does Loki. The cloud of smoke is thick and almost suffocating but when it clears, he’s gone.  
  
Akechi growls and is about to say something when he notices the same thing Akira notices. The group look up to see Minagawa himself standing just a little further away and behind him is a boy their age. He’s the treasure.  
  
He glows and glitters like all the others but the difference is that he’s not a golden statue like the other boys. He seems to breathe and move. His light eyes glance at the Phantom Thieves beneath a shower of silky dark hair. His skin is pale and almost shining like the treasure he is.  
  
Morgana twitches on Akira’s shoulder and he wonders if the cat wants to rub up against this treasure.  
  
He hopes not.  
  
That would be weird.  
  
“So you’re the Phantom Thieves,” Minagawa hisses at them “Should have known to stay away when you had the chance.”  
  
“Unfortunately we’ve never been any good at doing what we’re told,” Ryuji drawls as he comes out from behind Akira and takes his place beside him.  
  
Lined along the walls, all around the treasure in the middle, are the golden statues of all the boys Minagawa has abused and Ishida makes a small noise of surprise when he realises there are far more than he originally thought. They’re all polished, shiny, standing side by side along the wall and in the middle, sitting on a bed, is the treasure, glittering and beautiful and alive.  
  
Minagawa summons his shadows to join him and faces the thieves “You will never get out of here alive,” he promises “And you will never touch him.”  
  
“Crow, Kid, Skull, with me,” Akira orders.  
  
They follow his orders as they always have done and when Arsene rises once more from Akira, he feels the familiar rush of power and anarchy he always does. He glances back at the boy, the treasure hiding behind Minagawa and he’s the cognitive version. He’s what Minagawa thinks he should be. What he thinks he must be.  
  
Golden, glittering, young and shining. It’s enough to make Ryuji ill, Akechi gets angry and so does Ishida but Akira can’t help but wonder - not for the first time - why such monsters exist in the world in the first place.  
  
“Don’t humanise them,” Arsene croons in his ear, like the angel on his shoulder - or the devil, Akira thinks later. “Don’t try to understand them. Take their heart, it’s all you can do.”  
  
The shadows are strong, Akira narrowly avoids a giant claw coming towards his face as Arsene retaliates with a strong swipe that knocks the shadow off its feet. But it’s the other shadow that comes after Ryuji and downs him with one well placed hit that not only knocks him down, but also nearly kills him.  
  
Ann grabs him right away and shoves him back into Yusuke’s arms. She takes his place next to Akira and shoots down the offending shadow in a fiery blast. Akira’s actually amazed the other one managed to survive it at all. Ishida takes out the other, leaving Minagawa vulnerable to them.  
  
The history teacher backs away and holds out his arms “Sora,” he calls “Heal me.”  
  
The boy on the bed, Sora, looks up and his eyes glow a brilliant blue. He starts to sing and they watch as Minagawa seems to gather power from it. Furthermore, the more Sora sings, the more powerful Minagawa gets, the weaker Sora himself gets.  
  
“That boy is his source, without him, he’s powerless,” Morgana determines “Joker, send someone out to silence him.”  
  
“Will there be a need?” Akechi asks “Look, he’s losing power the more he sings. His power is not limitless, there’s a chance he could sing himself to exhaustion.”  
  
“That’s not a chance we should be taking right now,” Makoto reminds him “We need that treasure. Alive or not.”  
  
Akira thinks. Minagawa has his eyes set on Ishida the most, which means anyone other than him would be able to go. The ideal person would not only be completely out of Minagawa’s range, but also be able to silence the boy, Sora, before he is able to sing again.  
  
“Noir,” he speaks, addressing Haru despite not looking at her “I’m counting on you.”  
  
“Got it,” Haru nods. She disappears before Minagawa even notices she’s gone and when Minagawa finally rears his head up again, he’s a lot stronger and they can feel it. There’s a threatening aura in the atmosphere, heavy and thick with a threat they’ve felt many times before.  
  
This part, at least, is very familiar.  
  
Minagawa strikes and Akira feels extremely thankful that Akechi is so quick. Sora’s power had made Minagawa grow in size until he was three times as big as he used to be. Tall and fat with his teachers suit bursting at the seams and buttons. From the arms of his suit, sprout teal, slime covered tentacles that stick to the ground when they miss their opponent.  
  
“Careful,” Futaba shouts in their ears “Those tentacles are not designed to harm. They’re designed to stick and bring you to him.”  
  
“So he can eat us?” Ishida squeaks, glancing at Minagawa’s mouth, which has widened in size, spreading all across his face in an almost insane smile.  
  
Minagawa swipes again and Akira ducks, barely avoiding the blast of the wall as the tentacle sticks to it. Ann takes out her whip, followed by Ishida as they both attack the tentacle. Akira glances ahead to see Haru quickly and quietly making her way towards Sora.  
  
Only a little longer now.  
  
“Get the tentacles, then go for the body,” Futaba advises as Minagawa pulls his tentacle out of the way after it’s been battered by Ishida and Ann. He swipes the other tentacle and Ishida jumps but it hits Ann directly in the chest and sticks to her as Futaba said it would.  
  
“Get it off!” Ann screams as Minagawa pulls. Ishida grabs her arm and Akira reaches for the other one whilst Akechi deals an attack at the tentacle holding her.  
  
“Food you are,” Minagawa hisses, a purple tongue coming out to lick his horrendously wide lips as he pulls Ann closer “Food you all are.”  
  
Haru jumps onto the bed and Sora looks at her. She grabs him and clamps a hand over his mouth, stopping his singing as her other arm wraps around him and pulls him off the bed. The second the singing stops, Minagawa lets Ann go and turns around in horror as Haru pulls Sora off and holds him close to herself.  
  
“No!” Minagawa shrieks “Not him!”  
  
“Now,” Akira orders as he sees Minagawa distracted “Now!”  
  
Ishida attacks first. The roots from the ground itself rise up at his call. Ann shoots fire towards his face, Akechi calls the heavens down to attack and Akira finishes with a well aimed shot.  
  
When the smoke clears, Minagawa is down. Shrunken to his normal size, quivering and whimpering on the floor. Ann kicks his weapons away and Ishida reaches down to grab Minagawa by the scuff of his shirt.  
  
“Get up!” Ishida demands “Get up, you coward!”  
  
“Please don’t hurt me,” Minagawa begs.  
  
“Hurt you?!” Ishida’s eyes grow hard and he yanks the man up onto his feet as the others stand behind him. “Hurt you? That doesn’t even begin to cover what I want to do to you,” Ishida continues “You ruined my life. You ruined the lives of all those boys at school! You don’t deserve a second chance!”  
  
“Kid,” Ryuji croaks from where he’s being held up by Yusuke “Don’t…”  
  
Ishida whirls on him, eyes blazing with fury “Don’t? Don’t what?! Hurt him? Kill him?! Why should this waste of air live after what he’s done?!”  
  
Akechi nods and leans back against a pillar “He’s making sense.”  
  
“Shut up, Crow,” Makoto hisses and steps forward. She faces Ishida “We are the Phantom Thieves. The real ones, we don’t kill. He’s a monster, he’s done horrible things but we do not sink to his level.”  
  
Ishida looks exhausted. There are tears streaking down his cheeks from under the mask but he understands. Slowly, his grip loosens on Minagawa and he lets the man slump pitifully to the floor. Makoto takes Ishida to the back as Akira approaches Minagawa and looks down.  
  
“So?” Minagawa asks, looking resigned “What will happen to me? Will I die?”  
  
“Maybe,” Akira answers “But not at our hand.”  
  
He watches Haru bring Sora to their side and looks over the glittering boy. He’s the treasure of the castle, but he lives. It’s a first for them.  
  
“Repent for everything,” Akira demands “Confess everything.”  
  
Minagawa nods, he looks so pitiful and defeated. Much like many of the others did.  
  
“Let’s go,” Morgana suggests as he jumps up onto Akira’s shoulder again “We have the treasure. Let’s get out of here.”  
  
They turn to leave and Minagawa looks up.  
  
“Wait,” he pleads. They turn around and he slowly stands up “My son, My Sora…”  
  
Haru glares. It’s a rare look on her and she holds the treasure closer to herself “He’s not your anything,” she snaps.  
  
“Will they find him now?” Minagawa asks “Sora he...he disappeared. No matter how much I looked, no matter how much I tried to...replace him. No boy could match what he was.”  
  
“Replace?” Ryuji hisses in disgust.  
  
Yusuke follows with the same expression “Wherever he is now. I certainly hope he’s better off without you.”  
  
Akira leaves it alone. There’s no point talking to him. But as he’s about to leave, the atmosphere changes immediately. Everyone feels it, including Minagawa himself. Suddenly the cave turns dark and the humidity with the heat rises again.  
  
Akira frowns and Makoto looks around.  
  
“Navi,” she asks “What’s going on?”  
  
“Last time we felt this heat…” Ann breathes, a slow realisation returning to her.  
  
“But it can’t be,” Yusuke protests, his eyes looking around as he keeps Ryuji close.  
  
Akira gets a gut feeling. A pull that kicks his instincts into high alert. He turns to the others “Run. Now.”  
  
“What’s going on?!” Ann asks, panicking a little.  
  
“Run!”  
  
* * *  
  
Hiding on the corner of the stairs, Shiho peeks around to look at Minagawa’s office door.  
  
She’d done just as she was told. She’d ensured nobody had seen her come up here, she’d kept her head down and it helped that she was already a student most wrote off and ignored.  
  
That visit from Akira Kurusu this morning had been strange but she had no reason to say no to him. It wasn’t like he was asking her for much either. He’d just asked her to watch Minagawa and at the moment, the teacher in question was in his office.  
  
She keeps herself hidden, watching as a figure walks towards Minagawa’s office. The figure is wearing a red hoodie, the hood pulled up and the back turned so she can't see the face or even the hair. It was a student, it had to be. He or she was smaller, a first year?  
  
Shiho watches as the student knocks on the door and stays silent even as Minagawa opens the door. Minagawa seems to look the student up and down and Shiho shivers.  
  
Were the rumours true after all? That look Minagawa gave the student...it was the same look Kamoshida used to give Ann.  
  
He lets the student in and Shiho still can't see a face as Minagawa closes the door again.  
  
Shiho checks the hallway and comes out from her hiding spot. She walks silently to the door and presses her ear up against it.  
  
_“...aren’t you a pretty one?”_ Minagawa’s voice speaks _“Pretty like him.”_  
  
The student doesn't say anything. Shiho can't hear another voice to tell her whether this student was male or female.  
  
“So pretty,” Minagawa purrs and a familiar wave of disgust rolls over her. What was Minagawa doing to the student?  
  
“You...what’s that? Wait…” Minagawa’s voice isn't purring anymore. He's panicking “Wait...why do you have that?! Put it away! Don’t-!”  
  
A loud bang, a gunshot echoes in the room and Shiho just barely stops herself from screaming as she jumps away from the door and looks up at the frosted glass. Blood splatters across the glass and she hears a heavy thud as another gunshot sounds.  
  
Shiho is shaking, her eyes wide and when she hears footsteps, she skitters back to her hiding spot. She barely hides herself as the student comes out again.  
  
Shiho watches, both hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming as the student, hooded and hidden once more, strolls past her hiding spot - thankfully not noticing her at all.  
  
She waits until the student was well and truly gone before slowly, carefully coming out and looking at the door of the office. It's open and lying on the floor, blocking the door from closing again, Minagawa lies in a pool of his own blood. Two gunshot wounds on his chest and his eyes wide, unseeing and staring at the ceiling.  
  
* * *  
  
The gunshot sound inside the Metaverse was deafening. The thieves are all knocked off their feet as the Palace crumbles on the spot.  
  
“Run!” Makoto shouts and they are trying.  
  
They’d never been inside the Palace of someone as they died but they had no illusions of what those gunshot sounds were. Someone had killed Minagawa whilst they were in his cognition and the Palace was falling to pieces faster than normal.  
  
Akira pushes the others ahead of him (all but Akechi who refuses to go in front of him) and as the group rush up the stairs, the walls are crumbling, the roof is caving in. Makoto is leading them with Ishida tight in her grip. Morgana and Haru have the treasure, Yusuke and Ann are practically carrying Ryuji and close on their heels, Akira is running with Akechi close behind him.  
  
“We’re not gonna make it,” Ishida pants.  
  
“Shut up! We’ll make it!” Makoto snaps, running on adrenaline and determination as she drags him up the last flight of stairs and towards the open exit of the excavation site.  
  
“Run!” Morgana screams “Run!”  
  
Akira hears something crack. That’s all the warning he gets before the ground splits between him and Ann. Akechi grabs his arm and yanks him back as the others turn around and watch in horror. The ground below them splits open, separating Akira and Akechi from the others. It crumbles even as Akira and Akechi scramble back.  
  
“Joker!” Morgana yells.  
  
The ground gives out under Akira’s feet and the last thing he sees before the ground literally swallows him whole is the look on Ryuji’s face and the feeling of Akechi’s arms locking around him as they plummet into pitch black.  
  
* * *  
  
Lights. Fuzzy. Hazy and they keep flashing past his closed eyes. Akira feels the bump and uncomfortable stiffness of the seat underneath him, hears the familiar whir of the train as he opens his eyes and realises the lights are rolling past as the train he’s in rolls along the tracks.  
  
He sits up and rubs his head. For some reason, he’s on the floor of the train. He notices nobody is sitting on the chairs, nobody is in the train but the train keeps rolling.  
  
Slowly, Akira pushes himself up onto his feet and looks around. It’s a subway. The seats on either side are empty, there are advertisements lined along the top and hanging down along the middle of the cart. The lights outside the train are from the tunnel they’re in and it seems to go on forever.  
  
“You took your time,” a calm voice speaks and Akira turns around to see a boy sitting on the bench that was empty a second ago.  
  
The boy has blue hair, lighter than Yusuke’s and shorter. It’s kind of messy and a large portion covers his right eye. His gaze is almost dull, lifeless as he takes the headphones from his ears and places them over his shoulders instead. Akira notes the uniform he wears and he doesn’t recognise the school but this kid can’t be that much older than him.  
  
Akira feels the bump of the tracks and goes to sit on the bench opposite the blue haired boy.  
  
“You are?” he asks.  
  
The boy shrugs “Does it matter?” he shoots back in the same calm, but dull, tone he’d used before “Names, places...does anything matter here?”  
  
“You tell me,” Akira frowns, he looks around “Am I dead?”  
  
“Are you?” the boy answers and it’s kind of irritating how he won’t answer a question but simply shoots another one back. “Am I? You should know what death feels like,” the boy continues “You’ve been brushing up against it ever since you started entering the Metaverse.”  
  
Akira doesn’t answer, just stares at the boy and unfortunately for him, the boy stares back. Both calm, both stoic, both reluctant to talk first. Nothing will ever get done if they’re left alone.  
  
Finally the blue haired boy sighs “You’re not dead,” he says and fiddles with one of his headphones “I might be, but I shouldn’t have to tell you that. But you’re not exactly conscious either.”  
  
He’s got a point there. As slightly bumpy as this train ride feels, the eerie feeling of the Metaverse and the fact that they haven’t left this obscenely long tunnel is a dead giveaway that if Akira isn’t dead, he’s at least unconscious.  
  
“I wonder though,” the boy continues “If you keep going on like this...who will kill you first? You’re in over your head this time.”  
  
Akira frowns and he wants to know who the boy is. A name at least.  
  
The boy provides nothing of the sort but he does look at Akira. Long, elegant fingers picking and poking at his headphones, the other strangely in his pocket.  
  
“I called you here,” the boy says at last “To warn you. They already know you’re here, they set this web months ago and you’re already in it. Like a fly to a spider.”  
  
Akira frowns and he doesn’t get it but the boy seems cryptic enough without him interrupting with questions. The boy would probably never answer them anyway.  
  
The blue haired boy fixes his gaze straight at Akira “A traitor,” he says “A death. Power. Betrayal. Pain. You’ll have them all before this is over. I came to warn you, if you’re not dead now, you soon will be.”  
  
“Then what do I have to do?” Akira asks and he doesn’t even know if he should take him seriously. He doesn’t know who he is.  
  
Then again, he hadn’t known who Igor was either and that whole mess had been as confusing as this. He wonders why he can’t just have normal dreams about flying cupcakes like everyone else.  
  
The blue haired boy just smiles and shakes his head “You’re the fly and you’re already in the web,” he tells him “Be careful, Kurusu, they know you’re here.”  
  
The boy gets up and puts his headphones back over his ears. It’s only after he gets up that Akira notices the gun at his side. The boy walks towards the closed doors of the cart and pulls his gun out. He turns to look at Akira and points the gun at himself. Pressing the barrel against his own temple.  
  
“Not just you,” he warns Akira as his finger rests on the trigger “They know everyone is here.”  
  
He pulls the trigger and the bang wakes Akira up. With a gasp, he sits up and it takes him a couple of seconds to realise he’s not in the train anymore. He’s not in the Metaverse anymore. The ground underneath him is very real, so is the fresh air of the park he’s lying in. He feels hands on his shoulders and his vision blurs for a moment before it focuses on Akechi, who is leaning over him, eyes scanning and wide with concern.  
  
“Shit,” Akechi sighs in relief once he realises Akira is awake. “Don’t do that to me again.”  
  
Akira looks around. The park is pretty empty. It’s the afternoon, the sun is low in the sky and it’s starting to get dark. He feels pain all over his body but it’s from running, falling and presumably hitting something hard. Whatever it is, they got out alright.  
  
“Where are the others?” he asks and his voice is weaker and croakier than he thought it would be.  
  
“I don’t know,” Akechi admits “We landed here. Through some miracle, we didn’t die in the Metaverse.”  
  
He sits down next to Akira and it’s only now that Akira notices the blood on his head and the rips in his pants from his knee to his ankle. He’s filthy with dirt but then so is Akira.  
  
They sit in silence for a moment. The evening breeze cools Akira’s skin and he thinks about the things that blue haired boy had said.  
  
_“They know you’re here.”_  
  
_“They know everyone is here.”_  
  
They being...the fake Phantom Thieves? That had been obvious when one personally came to the Metaverse to greet him but Akira gets the feeling - a familiar gut feeling at that - that it’s a little more complicated than that.  
  
The Metaverse always is complicated.  
  
“You scared me,” Akechi breaks his thoughts and Akira turns to look at him. The other isn’t returning his gaze but he’s picking at the grass underneath him, face turned away and he looks almost...haunted.  
  
“Thought you’d never wake up,” Akechi admits quietly “I keep seeing it. The ground opening up, taking you down and I thought...this is it. This is when you finally….” he exhales and his hand curls into a fist where he holds the grass. He shakes his head “To think I once wanted you dead. Now the thought of it…”  
  
Akira feels something thud, hard, in his chest. He thinks about the nights he could sleep, the nights he’d shared the same bed as Akechi. Hearing his breathing, feeling his warmth, all of it had made sleeping easier and he realises that’s what he needs now. That’s why he hasn’t been able to sleep.  
  
Maybe that’s why Akechi hasn’t been sleeping either.  
  
For whatever reason, they need each other now and Akechi’s words - though Akira doesn’t show it in his face - move something in his chest to an almost painful degree. It gets hard to breathe and he watches Akechi, the way the other is hunched over slightly, the tufts of brown hair as they slip just slightly over his eyes. Even the slight quiver and shake of his hand as he fists the grass and pulls them from their roots, Akira notices everything about Akechi.  
  
Akechi takes a shaky breath and leaves the grass alone. His hand unfolding gently and resting instead on the ground. He turns to meet Akira’s eyes and he’s serious.  
  
“Don’t do that again,” he tells him “Don’t scare me like that again.”  
  
Akira thinks he should say something. Something reassuring, maybe a nod, maybe promise he won’t get himself into that situation again but before he can do anything, before he even notices Akechi’s face is even closer, he feels Akechi’s lips pressing against his own.  
  
It’s soft, gentle, even hesitant. Akechi’s hand has risen from where it had been torturing the grass and now rests on the side of Akira’s face, gently cradling his cheek.  Akira doesn’t get the chance to answer or pull away before Akechi does that for him just as they hear Futaba’s voice calling from a distance.  
  
“AKIRA!”  
  
Akira blinks. He looks up to see the whole group running towards him. Akechi leans back and runs a thumb over his lips, almost self consciously and Akira wonders if the group saw them kiss - but doubts it. That was too fast.  
  
“Akira,” Futaba gasps as she reaches him first. She pulls him into a hug and Akira gets a faceful of her long, ginger hair as she embraces him so tightly she literally cuts off his breathing.  
  
“You stupid…” Futaba hisses into his shoulder “Don’t do that again.”  
  
“Are you alright, Akechi-kun?” Ann asks and Akechi mumbles a small reply as Futaba finally lets go of Akira.  
  
“We’re glad you’re both alright,” Makoto sighs in relief “We all landed near the school. We saw the police cars.”  
  
That gets Akechi’s attention. He looks up and frowns “Police cars?”  
  
Makoto nods “And ambulances. Someone shot Minagawa.”  
  
* * *  
  
They decide to regroup at Ryuji’s house. All of them take up the entire living room and Ann gets up to hug Shiho when she finally arrives last.  
  
“Ann,” Shiho breathes, her arms coming around her friend “Ann, it was horrible.”  
  
“Not that I mind,” Ryuji speaks from where he’s sitting on the couch whilst Haru tends to his wounds “But why is she here?”  
  
Akira exchanges a look with Akechi, who looks just as curious and sighs “I asked her to watch Minagawa whilst we were...away,” he answers delicately “That’s what I talked to her about this morning.”  
  
“Wait,” Makoto frowns and gets up “You involved her? That was dangerous!”  
  
“She could have gotten hurt,” Ann adds, slightly angry that Akira had involved Shiho at all.  
  
“I had a feeling something was going to happen to Minagawa and I asked her to keep an eye on him, that’s all,” Akira explains with one hand up “I told her to keep herself hidden.”  
  
“It’s okay, Ann,” Shiho rubs her arm “I agreed to it.”  
  
Ann doesn’t look appeased, in fact if anything she keeps Shiho a little closer and shakes her head “Still…”  
  
Akira looks down. He waits until everyone is seated and looks at Akechi. The brown haired boy hasn’t said a word but his eyes tell Akira that he hadn’t seen Shiho coming either.  
  
“So...what happened?” Ishida asks Shiho.  
  
Shiho shakes her head “I saw him go into his office...then about an hour later, a student came to him.”  
  
“What did he look like?” Makoto presses.  
  
“I didn’t see his face. Don’t even know if it’s a him or her. They wore a red hoodie, kept the hood up and didn’t say a word,” Shiho explains with a shaky voice “They walked to Minagawa’s door and he let them in. I could hear Minagawa saying…” she pauses and shakes her head “The things he said.”  
  
“I think we can guess,” Yusuke assures her as he thinks of the heat that had risen before Minagawa’s Palace started falling to pieces. “Please, continue.”  
  
“Then I heard a gunshot,” Shiho says, her eyes noticeably disturbed “Two. I went to hide and the student...they walked right past me. I thought they’d shoot me too and I didn’t see their face.”  
  
“Just as well,” Ryuji grunts, wincing as Haru presses against a bruise “If you did, they probably would have shot you too for bein’ a witness.”  
  
Shiho still looks shaken. Ann pulls her into a hug and the others think over what this means.  
  
They’re silent for a couple of moments before Akira shakes his head. Those words from the blue haired boy are still echoing in his head and he can’t ignore them.  
  
“Haru, Makoto, Ann and Yusuke,” he states and looks at them “You have to return to Tokyo.”  
  
Makoto gets this look on her face, like she’s offended that Akira is pushing her away now when it’s obvious they need to be together. All of them. Now more than ever. She leans forward “We can’t leave now.”  
  
“You have to,” Akira answers, his tone just as strong as Makoto’s.  
  
Akechi nods “He’s right. Not only do you all have school and university to return to but it’s not safe here and…” he notes Shiho’s presence in the room and takes a small breath “We have things we need to figure out before we try that again.”  
  
In other words, they need to know what they’re up against before they try entering the Metaverse again. Akira twitches as he hears the blue haired boys words in his mind again and Akechi shoots him a look before turning to the rest of the group.  
  
“Guys,” Akira pleads “Go. We’ll sort another time to do this but right now, you all have to go back to Tokyo.”  
  
Yusuke looks torn, Ann casts her gaze down to her lap, Makoto doesn’t say anything but it’s clear by the look on her face that she understands the logic perfectly. Haru just bites her lip as she finishes on Ryuji and lets him put his shirt back on.  
  
“I guess we’d better leave soon then,” Makoto decides at last “Yusuke, Ann, we can take you back.”  
  
Ann looks at Shiho and Yusuke’s eyes flick over to Ryuji but neither say anything. They can’t, they have to go and they know it.  
  
Akira thinks about it a little more and turns to Futaba, who’s curled up on the armrest of the couch as if she’d been hoping he wouldn’t notice her.  
  
“Futaba…”  
  
“Hell no.”  
  
Akira frowns “Futaba-”  
  
“No!” Futaba snaps.  
  
“Sojiro would kill me,” Akira reminds her with a knowing look “Go back.”  
  
Futaba looks like she wants to argue more but then Haru rubs her back and she gives up. She looks grumpy but she, like Makoto, understands the logic perfectly. For more than one reason, they cannot stay.  
  
They wait for Haru’s driver to arrive with a car and as they’re saying goodbye at the door, Ann looks up.  
  
“Hey we should have a party for Ishida-kun,” she smiles at the boy in question “A welcome party. It’s tradition.”  
  
Makoto’s smile looks tired and she nods “Maybe we should have it in Tokyo. Holidays are coming up.”  
  
“Or a weekend,” Haru offers with a bright smile “I could get a helicopter to bring you all into Tokyo for the day.”  
  
Ishida beams and he gets this glassy look in his eyes, like he’s about to cry.  
  
“That would be...amazing,” he admits “I’ve...I’ve never had friends like you before.”  
  
Ann beams at him and rubs his hair “Well you’re one of us now, aren’t you?”  
  
“True,” Yusuke adds and he looks at Ryuji for a moment before turning to Akira “Come back to Tokyo some time.”  
  
It’s a plea and Akira knows it. They’re actually all safer in Tokyo now.  
  
They each pile into the car one by one. Ann gives Shiho one more hug before turning to Ryuji and hugging him too. She hides her face in his shoulder and shivers a little. Hugging Ryuji feels stranger when she knows she’s leaving him somewhere very dangerous.  
  
“Be careful,” she whispers in his ear “If you get yourself hurt again, Ryuji, I swear…”  
  
“I’ll be fine,” Ryuji chuckles it off and hides the fact that he knows he’s in danger. They all are. He gently pushes her off him and rubs the back of his neck shyly “Just...keep in touch. Alright?”  
  
Ann nods, she smiles at Morgana who flicks his tail and sighs sadly.  
  
“Goodbye Lady Ann,” Morgana says sadly “We’ll come visit you soon.”  
  
Ann nods. She gets into the car and Yusuke looks like he wants to hug Ryuji too but he doesn’t. Instead he nods “Thank you for letting me stay at yours,” he tells him sincerely “I hope we see you again soon...all of you,” he adds as an afterthought and glances at Akira.  
  
“Don’t worry about us,” Ryuji waves them off “Go on, it’ll be late by the time you get back and I hate long goodbyes.”  
  
Yusuke looks uneasy, he gets into the car and Futaba latches her arms around Akira. She hugs him tight and once again, Akira decides breathing isn’t going to be a thing as he hugs her back and waits for her to let him go again.  
  
“I will come back and kill you myself if you get yourself killed,” she warns him and turns to Akechi “And you…” she pauses, Akechi raises his eyebrow and Futaba narrows her eyes “Look after him or I’ll kill you too.”  
  
Makoto and Haru hug him too, earning him a slightly peeved look from Akechi as he obviously is not used to Akira being the center of attention with women.  
  
Haru pulls back and pulls a small paper from her pocket. She hands it to Akira and smiles “This was the treasure,” she tells him.  
  
Akira looks down, it’s a photo of a boy he can only assume is Sora. He looks younger than he probably is. Big, wide eyes underneath a damp shower of dark hair, flawless skin and a sad looking smile. He’s beautiful, just what Minagawa had wanted. The source of his distorted desire.  
  
Haru smiles at him and climbs into the car and when they finally drive away, Akira feels better.  
  
He hears Ryuji sigh in relief and even Shiho looks relaxed as the car pulls away.  
  
Ishida sighs “What happens now?”  
  
Akechi glances at Shiho and clears his throat “Another death,” he states, keeping it cryptic for her sake “We’re all going to have to be careful.”  
  
“We’re gonna get blamed for it,” Ryuji mutters so quietly Shiho doesn’t catch it but he’s telling the truth. This is a death after the calling card was out. They’re going to be blamed for it.  
  
“They know you’re here,” the blue boy had said and Akira remembers his eyes, emotionless but staring straight at him “They know everyone is here.”  
  
“I’m going to go home,” Ishida says, breaking Akira’s thoughts. He looks at the boy and Ishida yawns “I’m beat.”  
  
“Same,” Ryuji nods.  
  
“I’d better get going too,” Shiho agrees. She turns to Akira and nods a little “Be careful, Kurusu-kun.”  
  
“You too,” Akira replies “All of you. Be careful now.”  
  
It’s not just because someone else was shot. It was because their enemy is onto them and the thought puts Akira on edge.  
  
Ishida and Shiho walk off together. They disappear around the corner and Akira glances at Akechi. The brown haired boy is staring down the road, lost in thought.  
  
“Morgana,” Akira turns to the cat “Stay with Ryuji tonight.”  
  
“What?!” both Ryuji and Morgana exclaim at the same time.  
  
“It’s safer,” Akira explains.  
  
“What about you though?” Morgana asks, cat eyes wide as his paws twitch a little more than normal.  
  
Akira’s about to answer when Akechi pulls out of his thoughts and looks at them over his shoulder “I’ve got him,” he assures them.  
  
Ryuji and Morgana, for a moment, look like they don’t know what to say. They look between Akira and Akechi and finally something seems to relent in Morgana’s eyes because he slumps a little and hangs his furry head.  
  
“Fiiine,” Morgana mutters “I’ll stay with Ryuji.”  
  
Ryuji rolls his eyes but he nods as well.  
  
“We should arrange a meeting tomorrow before school starts,” Akechi suggests “We may have to brace ourselves for the reality of being blamed for the murder.”  
  
“Not like we haven’t been blamed before,” Ryuji mutters darkly, tactfully and kindly avoiding the fact that it had been Akechi himself who’d framed them last time.  
  
Akira smiles at his friends “Get some sleep,” he advises them “Be on your guard. The fake Phantom Thieves know we’re here now.”  
  
That much had been obvious even without the blue haired boy pointing it out.  
  
They leave and Akira almost heads towards his house before Akechi grabs his arm and directs him towards his apartment instead. Akira doesn’t mind, so long as he can get some sleep - preferably without having to face the Metaverse or that strange boy again.  
  
They walk in through the door and are met, again, by Akechi’s landlord who raises an eyebrow.  
  
“Second time?” Johnny asks with a glance at Akechi “I’m getting the feeling you’re the type who just isn’t gonna warn me.”  
  
“It’s only one this time,” Akechi smiles and it’s the adult mode again. He seems to switch it on naturally whenever he’s dealing with adults and normally it would work but Johnny doesn’t seem like the type to buy it.  
  
“What?” Johnny asks and this small grin spreads over his face as he looks between the two of them “Is he your boyfriend?”  
  
Akechi, for once, doesn’t know what to say. He goes blank for a precious moment and Akira thinks about bailing him out but he doesn’t think Johnny will believe him either. Johnny just seems far more observant than most people give him credit for.  
  
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Johnny chuckles “It’s not like it’s taboo.”  
  
Akechi looks kind of lost and Johnny pats his shoulder “Really it’s fine. I used to have a friend who turned into a woman so not much can surprise me these days.”  
  
It’s kind of a change. Akechi can usually handle adults. He usually knows just what to say to make them shut up and think he’s on their side but Johnny buys none of it and he’s immune to Akechi’s fake smiles.  
  
Thank god, Akira thinks, someone needs to see through him.  
  
“Go on, go up, you both look wiped,” Johnny nods to the elevator “I’m just gonna guess that you’re never gonna tell me when you have guests.”  
  
“Sorry,” Akechi offers weakly as they go to the elevator and take it up to his floor.  
  
Akechi lets Akira inside but neither bother with the lights. They’re both tired, both of them feeling the pull of the Metaverse and the remaining pangs of pain as their bodies have endured a fall.  
  
Akechi sits on the bed first. Akira stays at the doorframe and looks at it, he hesitates and Akechi pats the spot next to him.  
  
“Kurusu,” he says “Sleep.”  
  
Akira thinks about Akechi’s lips pressed against his own and maybe he shouldn’t be thinking about that when there’s a killer on the loose, they’re being framed, the Metaverse is fucked up and some unseen enemy is trying to kill them all but Akira can’t seem to help it.  
  
Akechi kissing him should be the least of his problems in light of what they’re going through right now but it’s all he can think about.  
  
What does he want? What does Akechi want? If Akira knew the answer to either of those two questions, his life might be a lot easier.  
  
“Kurusu,” Akechi tries again.  
  
Akira glances at the couch “Maybe I should…”  
  
“Akira,” Akechi finally switches to his first name and there it is again. That same painful pang, like something in his chest is thumping hard against his ribs and he finds it hard to breathe.  
  
Slowly, almost dragging his feet, Akira goes towards the bed and climbs onto it. He lies down next to Akechi and the only light is coming from the streetlights from the street below Akechi’s window. It’s quiet. They hear the occasional car drive past but this isn’t Tokyo, it’s quiet.  
  
Akechi turns until he’s on his side, facing Akira. Akira feels his eyes on him, the heat radiating off his body just like before and he feels the return of fatigue. Of the ability to sleep. It’s a relief at last.  
  
“Akira,” Akechi says, his voice getting quieter as Akira feels sleep taking him away. He feels Akechi’s warm hand taking his own and squeezing “I…”  
  
Akira is out like a light. Unconscious before he even hears what Akechi had to say.  
  
* * *  
  
It’s late when Shiho finally returns home. She sneaks upstairs to her bedroom and closes the door with a quiet click behind her.  
  
She leans against the wood of the door and lets out a tired sigh.  
  
Ann. She’d seen Ann again and it’s a blessing and a half that Ann is going back to Tokyo. Where she’s safe.  
  
If she could, Shiho would follow. If things were really up to her, Shiho would have never come here to begin with. But her mother was worried and so here they are - it’s actually the worst place to be and that school was hell even before Kurusu, Sakamoto and Akechi turned up.  
  
But...Shiho smiles, she got to see Ann. The blonde ray of sunshine that had been her beam of light in her darkest days. She thinks back to the day she’d done it. Standing up there on the top of the building, all she’d wanted was to end it all but the second she jumped, she regretted it. Ann’s face turned up in her mind before the ground rose up to meet her and she’d been what made her regret jumping.  
  
Shiho sighs. She’s stronger now. She’ll never do that again. Even now, with this school as it is, it will never break her. But then she thinks about the murder she’d witnessed and she feels her breath leave her lungs.  
  
Oh god. What hell is she in now?  
  
She hears a noise from her phone and looks down to see a message from Ann.  
  
**Ann:** Be safe, Shiho. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you too.  
  
Shiho takes a shaky breath and walks over to sit down on her bed as she replies.  
  
**Shiho:** I’ll be fine. I’m glad you’re safe and away from this mess.  
  
**Ann:** Not for long! I’ll be back soon, just try to keep me away! ;)  
  
It makes Shiho smile. She sends Ann a love heart and clicks out of the app. It’s only when she does so that she notices a new app that seems to have installed itself into her phone. It’s red, it glows and there’s a creepy eye in the middle.  
  
She taps it and all of a sudden, this wave washes over her and everything goes blurry for a moment. Shiho’s eyesight wavers in and out and she holds her head in slight pain.  
  
What?  
  
She opens her eyes and looks around. Her room is still there but somehow it looks different. Changed somehow. She gets up off her bed and looks out her window and instead of her neighbourhood, the sight outside is very different.  
  
White skies make everything so much brighter, there appear to be red vines shooting up from the street below. Shiho’s eyes widen as she notices the birds...which look more like flying skeleton pterodactyls - flying around and spitting what appears to be fire down to the ground again.  
  
Is it hell?  
  
She leaves her room and heads down the stairs. Pulling her shoes on, Shiho pushes open the door and runs out onto the footpath. As she’s gazing around at the vines, the unexplainable feeling of heat and doom, she turns around and squeaks as she comes face to face with a tall boy.  
  
The boy blinks at her. He has a bowl cut mop of gray, silvery hair and he wears a black jacket over a gray turtleneck shirt and dark pants. He tilts his head in confusion and hums.  
  
“Who are you?” Shiho asks, almost afraid he’s going to do something to her.  
  
“You,” the boy hums “You’re not supposed to be here.”


	7. Tricks of the Mind

**4/21 - Thursday**   
  
**Futaba:** So...I got home and Sojiro was all like ‘is he eating properly?’ ‘next time take some curry with you’ ‘is that cat still there?’ ‘make sure it eats properly’   
  
**Makoto:** That’s understandable. He was his guardian for a year.   
  
**Futaba:** He’s more like a mother! Telling me to bring curry next time...well I will anyway.   
  
**Ryuji:** Guys, don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but stay away from here until we know what’s going on. We haven’t even gotten to school yet but it’s gonna be a shitfest.   
  
**Ann:** Keep your head down Ryuji. I know that’s a difficult task but you’re just a normal student there. Not a Phantom Thief.   
  
**Ryuji:** What do you mean a ‘difficult task’?!   
  
**Yusuke:** Ann’s right. No matter what they say about the Phantom Thieves being responsible for Minagawa’s death, you can’t take it personally.   
  
**Ryuji:** Still, why aren’t you telling this shit to Akira and Akechi too?!   
  
**Makoto:** We don’t need to warn them, they’re hard enough to read as it is.   
  
**Yusuke:** Speaking of which, both of them are absent from this conversation.   
  
**Haru:** They’re probably still sleeping. It is early in the morning and both of them were looking very tired.   
  
**Ann:** Wait, why are you awake, Ryuji?   
  
**Ryuji:** Morgana woke me.   
  
**Yusuke:** Morgana’s with you?   
  
**Ryuji:** Yeah, Akira went off with Akechi last night.   
  
**Futaba:** …   
  
**Makoto:** Not to open an old wound, but is this really okay?   
  
**Ryuji:** What?   
  
**Makoto:** Nevermind.   
  
**Ann:** No, I get where you’re going with that and I’m worried too.   
  
**Futaba:** Maybe someone should talk to him.   
  
**Makoto:** Someone he’ll listen to.   
  
**Ryuji:** What are you girls on about?   
  
**Yusuke:** Sometimes Ryuji, you’re so hopelessly clueless.   
  
**Ryuji:** Oi!   
  
**Haru:** Maybe we don’t need to talk sense into him.   
  
**Makoto:** Still, I’m worried.   
  
**Ryuji:** Yusuke, do you have any idea what they’re on about?   
  
**Yusuke:** Of course. You’re talking about Ryuji’s inability to disguise the fact that he is a Phantom Thief.   
  
**Futaba:** …   
  
**Makoto:** …   
  
**Haru:** Oh Yusuke-kun…   
  
**Ann:** Anyway, someone should talk to him. Just to be sure.   
  
**Futaba:** Yeah but who would he listen to? You know him, once he’s got his mind set on something, changing it is nearly impossible.   
  
**Haru:** Not to point out the obvious but wouldn’t he listen to us? We are his friends after all. If he doesn’t take our opinions into account, then no one else will do.   
  
**Makoto:** Haru has a point.   
  
**Ryuji:** What the hell are you girls on about??   
  
**Ann:** Ryuji’s closest there...I’ll message you later Ryuji.   
  
**Futaba:** I mean I have no problems with it if he’s sure. But I just wanna make sure he knows what he’s doing...you know?   
  
**Makoto:** I understand. It’s worrying but perhaps we’re making a bigger deal out of it than necessary.   
  
**Haru:** As his friends, we aren’t out of line by being worried for him.   
  
**Ann:** Right! Ryuji, we’re counting on you!   
  
**Yusuke:** You are all frustratingly vague.   
  
**Ryuji:** Chicks man…   
  
* * *   
  
When Akira steps into the cafe, Ryuji’s already there. It’s early morning, only the most diligent of students are up and on their way to school at this hour but Ryuji had messaged him and in all honesty, Akira hadn’t been sure what to do with Akechi. So he left him sleeping in his bed, the guy seemed to need it anyway.   
  
“Yo,” Ryuji grins as Akira puts his bag down and sits in the booth with him. He watches as Morgana pokes his head out of Ryuji’s bag and gasps for air.   
  
“Ryuji, what on earth do you keep in this bag?!” Morgana gasps “I can’t breathe!”   
  
“Oh...yeah…” Ryuji smirks to himself and leans back in the booth seat “I might have left my gym socks in there.”   
  
Morgana shrieks and jumps out of his bag “You’re disgusting!” he exclaims as he scampers under the table and jumps up onto Akira’s side instead. He settles in Akira’s bag and grumbles to himself as Ryuji flags down the waitress for some breakfast.   
  
Akira waits until the other has ordered and watches as Ryuji rubs the last of sleep out of his eyes. The blonde leans back and takes a deep breath.   
  
“So, I got this weird call from Ann,” Ryuji begins carefully “And I didn’t really get what she was on about at first but uh...I gotta talk to you about something.”   
  
“Ryuji,” Morgana sticks his head out of the bag “Get on with it.”   
  
“I’m getting there!” Ryuji snaps and his face goes a little red “This is awkward shit for me too and if one of the girls were here, I wouldn’t have to be the one to do it!”   
  
Akira frowns and Ryuji sets his eyes on him, he looks nervous “I’ll just...get to the point,” Ryuji finally says “Akira. You know you’ve gotta be careful with Akechi...right?”   
  
Well...that was a surprise. Akira blinks at him and frowns a little “I’m going to assume there’s more to that,” he mutters.   
  
“There is, I…” Ryuji rubs the back of his neck and groans “Look, I’m not good at talking about shit like this but the girls are all worried. They seem to think you and Akechi...you two have some sort of...thing going on and they’re worried about you, man.”   
  
Akira just barely stops himself from flinching. Well it wasn’t like they were being subtle about it, it just sort of happened and of course whilst this would have gone right past the likes of the unobservant Ryuji, the girls would have picked up on it fast. The thing is, he doesn’t even know how to deal with this himself, let alone begin to explain it to Ryuji.   
  
The waitress comes back with Ryuji’s food and Akira orders a drink. When she’s gone, he turns back to Ryuji “It’s alright,” he assures him “It’s just Akechi.”   
  
“I know,” Ryuji shrugs, still looking kind of awkward “Look, I know we talk shit about hookin’ up with girls and all that crap but...the truth is I don’t really give a shit. I mean...if the girls aren’t hallucinating and if something is happening...I just want you to know, I wouldn’t mind. Either way.”   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow at him but he shouldn’t be surprised. Ryuji’s always been far more open-minded than he lets on. “Even if it’s Akechi?” he asks, a little skeptical.   
  
Ryuji looks troubled “Come on man. I know we have some shit with Akechi and maybe most of that isn’t settled but it’s not like he’s evil now. I mean we even get where he came from.”   
  
Morgana hums “Yes but his values worry me. He’s still the only one of us who doesn’t condemn killing a Palace owner. That’s the one thing the Phantom Thieves will never do and yet he still deems it an acceptable thing.”   
  
“I get where he comes from but yes, killing them would make us no better than the fake Phantom Thieves,” Ryuji scowls “Those bastards. If it was them who killed Minagawa, then that death is gonna be pinned on us and we’ll look no better.”   
  
Morgana flicks his tail against Akira’s bag and looks at him seriously “Akira. Is something going on between you and Akechi?”   
  
Akira blinks. He can’t answer that. He doesn’t even know the answer himself. He thinks about how he left Akechi this morning, the other had been sleeping peacefully on his bed, his arms out beside him where he’d been clinging to Akira and it’s kind of obvious where this is going. The problem is that Akira isn’t sure he wants it to go there.   
  
The consequences of such a choice lead to places beyond Akira’s control. Then there’s the fact that he knows that someone malicious and powerful is already onto them. It’s way too risky no matter how he looks at it. There should be more important things to worry about other than who’s trying to get into Akira’s pants this time.   
  
“Hey,” Ryuji speaks, breaking his thoughts. He looks at the blonde and there’s a rare gentle look in Ryuji’s eyes. Few ever see it. “Whatever’s going on, however it turns out, I’ve got your back, alright?”   
  
Morgana shifts in the bag “Me too,” he says “We just wanna be sure.”   
  
Akira would like to be sure as well, he’s not used to being on the edge about something. Give him a dangerous Palace and someone pointing a gun in his face anyway but if he has to deal with Akechi and what he thinks is going on here, he might just take the gun instead.   
  
The waitress returns with Akira’s drink at last and Akira sips leisurely as he watches Ryuji plow through what has to be an insanely unhealthy amount of breakfast. He thinks about the others, safe in Tokyo and wonders how long they’re going to stay there.   
  
It would be unrealistic to think they’re going to stay there long.   
  
“I’ve been thinking about Minagawa too,” Ryuji breaks the silence again as he sucks up the last of his soba “The source of his distortion was his son, right?”   
  
“Yes,” Morgana twitches in the bag “His longing for his missing son caused him to find ‘replacements’. Hence Ishida and all those other boys.”   
  
“Who are probably gonna need a shitload of counselling now,” Ryuji winces “Anyway, what do you think happened to his son? Ishida said his name was...Sora?”   
  
“Who knows,” Morgana sighs “It’s not what we do in any case. We can’t look into cases for missing persons.”   
  
Ryuji nods and Akira knows there’s nothing they can actually do about this. They don’t even know if Sora was kidnapped or if he escaped on his own. For the sake of the boy, he hopes for the latter.   
  
The doors open and Ryuji nearly chokes on his toast when he sees Akechi walking in. The former detective makes his way to their booth and easily slides in with them.   
  
“Good morning,” he chirps, his friendly mode on and Akira can’t help but notice the waitress took note of Akechi’s arrival as well because she’s blushing and whispering to her coworker.   
  
“Slept in for once?” Ryuji teases and Akechi shrugs.   
  
“Something like that,” he yawns “It was good. I needed it.”   
  
The waitress comes around to their table and Akira wonders why her hopeful smile at Akechi sort of irritates him.   
  
“Can I get you something?” she asks, her eyes set on Akechi alone.   
  
“No thanks,” Akechi declines politely. It’s his smile that stops her from pouting and when she flutters away, Ryuji groans.   
  
“You have a natural born talent with girls,” he complains “That’s so not fair.”   
  
“Beside the point,” Akechi shrugs and his face turns serious “There are police officers investigating the school. Just like before with the principal, classes are not cancelled but don’t be surprised if they call us all in at some point for questioning.”   
  
Ryuji grumbles “We didn’t even do anything!”   
  
“Regardless, keep your answers short and to the point,” Akechi advises “That is two people who have been shot on campus, plus the suicides that happened before we arrived here. This school is going to be under a lot of public scrutiny for a while.”   
  
“Keeping that in mind, it might not be wise to continue Phantom Thief activities there,” Morgana points out “If the police are already looking…”   
  
Ryuji pushes his empty plate away and leans in “Yeah but if our next target is at the school?”   
  
“Our next target should be the fake thieves themselves,” Akechi replies calmly “We need to find out who they are and decide what to do with them. We already know now that they can enter the Metaverse and I can only guess at what they’ve been doing to convince people to commit suicide. We can’t let this continue.”   
  
Akira wants to agree but the words of the blue haired boy keep echoing in his mind like a chant he can’t forget.   
  
_“They know you’re here.”_  
  
 _“They know everyone is here.”_   
  
If the ‘they’ he refers to are the fake Phantom Thieves, then they’re already a million miles ahead of them. He’s walked into traps before and this is a trap.   
  
“Listen,” he says “That fake thief, Loki, met us in the Palace and the way he was talking makes me think they’re already ahead of us.”   
  
“Yeah but he asked for your name,” Ryuji points out with a frown “There’s no doubt he’s been pokin’ around in the Metaverse before but we probably provoked him to come out with those posters. The fact that he asked for your name means he doesn’t know who we are.”   
  
It doesn’t make Akira feel any better and he doesn’t even know if he should tell the others about the blue haired boy. It certainly didn’t feel like a dream but he doesn’t even know if he can trust him.   
  
“We should be careful anyway,” Morgana advises “We’ll need to get Ishida’s details off him too so we can say the same thing to him. All of us need to lie low.”   
  
It’s not like they haven’t had to do this before but the words keep repeating in Akira’s head and he really can’t relax. It must be all over his face because Akechi frowns and tilts his head.   
  
“Kurusu, are you alright?” he asks.   
  
Ryuji notices the look on Akira’s face as well. His reaction is a lot less subtle than Akechi’s but still that of concern.   
  
“You look more worried than usual,” Ryuji points out “Is something up?”   
  
Akira shakes his head. He has nothing to tell them yet but he has to look into this. Perhaps Lavenza or Igor can shine some light on it.   
  
“We should get going,” Ryuji decides once he realises Akira isn’t going to talk. He grabs his bag and hauls it over his shoulder “Let’s go.”   
  
Akechi nods and gets up but he still looks a little worried. Akira feels his eyes on the back of his head all the way into school and he tries to ignore the way it makes his stomach flip.   
  
Nope. Not now. This is not the time to start thinking about this when there are more important issues at hand. Like how the hell they’re going to survive an enemy they can’t see. The last thing Akira has time to think about now is his relationship with Akechi Goro.   
  
* * *   
  
The school, as Akechi warned them, is surrounded by police and detectives when they walk in. Akira keeps his head down as they make their way into the entrance and are ushered by the teachers towards their room.   
  
“Let the officers work,” they say “Keep your heads down. Don’t say anything unnecessary.”   
  
They meet up with Ishida in class, the boy looks grim and a little pale, sitting at his desk.   
  
“There’s a school assembly this morning,” he tells them quietly “Probably just them telling us how to deal with the officers and what happened to...Minagawa…” he looks extremely troubled then and turns to Akira “Hey, that wasn’t our fault, was it?”   
  
“Of course it wasn’t,” Ryuji snaps, a little harsher than he’d probably intended “Some asshole came and shot him in the head. How could we have done that?”   
  
“I just keep thinking…” Ishida winces, shrinking a little “Maybe if we hadn’t targeted him, then they wouldn’t have shot him in the head.”   
  
“It’s possible,” Akechi nods, keeping his voice quiet and low so others can’t hear them “Perhaps the shooter saw his opportunity to blame us for something he did. But the truth of the matter is that we had to do something.”   
  
Ishida still looks uneasy and Ryuji pulls out his phone “In any case, we should exchange numbers. If you’re one of us, you should be able to keep in touch with all of us.”   
  
Ishida nods and pulls out his phone as the teacher walks in, looking frazzled and tired. The students head back to their desks and she sighs heavily.   
  
“There’s an assembly and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this but a teacher here has died and that is why the police are here,” Kojima states in a short, sharp and slightly irritated tone “There will be an investigation and at some point, the detectives may call in students for questioning. Don’t waste their time and don’t say anything unnecessary. Now everyone head to the main hall for the assembly.”   
  
They all get up, Akira leaves Morgana safe in his desk as he follows Akechi and Ryuji to the main hall where all the students are gathering. As they line up in the hall, Ryuji looks around and frowns.   
  
“Hey,” he whispers to Akira “Where’s Suzui?”   
  
Akira looks around and Ryuji’s right. She’s not here. Considering she’d been involved in what happened yesterday, he wonders if she’d stayed home out of fear of what she’d seen.   
  
The murmuring of the students abate as the vice-principal steps out onto the podium. Akira can’t help but notice the extra guards stationed at the doors. They really are afraid someone will come out and shoot again.   
  
“As most of you may already know,” the vice principal says, his tone serious and firm “Our history teacher, Minagawa, passed away yesterday.”   
  
_“You mean, he was shot,”_ a boy mutters somewhere near Akira.   
  
_“Right in the head,”_ another one whispers _“They said the blood was everywhere.”_   
  
Ishida frowns but keeps silent as the vice principal continues.   
  
“We ask all students that they co-operate with the detectives in their investigation but do not say anything unnecessary and do not get in their way. We also ask that all students stay clear of the history faculty office as the area is under investigation. Do not confuse the investigation with rumours, all students must be reminded that this is a serious issue.”   
  
_“They blocked off the history office?”_ a girl whines near Ryuji _“I wanted to take a picture!”_  
  
 _“Hey, we should take a selfie near the barrier tape. This school is getting famous now!”_   
  
_“It was those Phantom Thieves. Real, fake, who knows, they’re doing the same thing.”_  
  
 _“What a nuisance to our school…”_   
  
Ryuji is shaking with rage and it speaks well of him that he manages to keep his temper even with all of that. They’re dismissed and Ryuji follows the class back but he still can’t see any sign of Shiho anywhere. He considers asking Ann to get in contact with her but that would just make Ann worry.   
  
“What is wrong with some of the kids here?” Ryuji mutters to Akira on their way back into the class “Take a selfie near the shooting spot? Are they fucking insane?”   
  
“It’s easy to make light of it when you’re not connected to it,” Akechi reasons quietly “But even I have to admit, that is low.”   
  
Akira sits back down in his desk and Morgana starts purring quietly. He looks down to see the cat is looking at him.   
  
“Whatever’s on your mind, you know you can talk to me right?” Morgana says and Akira wonders if he’s really that transparent.   
  
Damn Akechi, making him lose his cool. He nods to Morgana and goes back to leaning his elbow on the desk.   
  
The girls nearby stop whispering about the death of Minagawa and go back to whispering about how one of them should approach Akechi and ask if he’s seeing anyone. Akira tries not to let it bug him as much as it actually does.   
  
* * *   
  
Ann steps out of the gates of Shujin when her cellphone goes off in her pocket. She weaves her way gently through the crowd of students heading home and finds a quiet spot to take the call.   
  
“Ann-chan,” her boss chirps on the phone “We have a big job, it’s a huge opportunity and the star of the project asked for you specifically.”   
  
“Oh?” Ann raises her eyebrows, a little surprised “What’s the job?”   
  
“Ever considered acting?” he asks and Ann pauses. The thought of acting had crossed her mind before. After all, she’s a model and she’s started taking it seriously. Being in front of so many cameras has made her think of branching out and trying new things but acting isn’t that easy to get into.   
  
“Once,” she admits “What’s this about?”   
  
“There is a drama coming up and the main actress has asked for you specifically to fill in a minor role. You’d be perfect for it and it would be great exposure for our agency. How about it?”   
  
Ann glances around. She really has nothing to lose but if she commits to a drama, she can’t jump straight to the Phantom Thieves should something happen.   
  
Then again, whilst she knows something probably will happen soon, she doesn’t know when and she still has to behave like a high school girl. That’s not going to last forever, this is her final year, she has to take risks and chances where they present themselves.   
  
Then there’s the fact that she was asked for by name.   
  
“Who’s the actress who asked for me?” Ann asks.   
  
“That idol. Her posters have been around Shibuya lately...what’s her name...Kujikawa Rise-chan.”   
  
Ann pauses. She knows that name. She’s seen that face everywhere, especially recently when she came back into the spotlight and started doing both acting and singing.   
  
Such is the life of an idol. A real one.   
  
“Okay,” she finally decides and she can practically hear her boss jumping up and down in glee.   
  
“Perfect!” he exclaims “There’s actually a meeting set for this evening, can you make it?”   
  
Ann thinks she can just get some takeout on the way home and shrugs “Okay, I can do that.”   
  
“Perfect,” her boss sighs in relief “We’re counting on you to give it your all, Ann-chan! For the sake of our agency!”   
  
He hangs up and Ann wonders what she just got herself into. As she takes the train back home, she thinks about how Ryuji would probably love the opportunity to meet Kujikawa Rise in person and a small pang of pain shoots as she’s reminded that Ryuji isn’t here. Akira isn’t here. Shiho isn’t here. Ann takes a deep breath and boards the train.   
  
There’s a lonely irony in the fact that the train is packed full and yet Ann feels more alone than ever.   
  
* * *   
  
When Shiho opens her eyes, she doesn’t recognise her surroundings at all. It’s her room, but it’s not her room. There’s a strange purple light coming from her bedroom window and everything looks distorted and out of place. There’s also an oppressive air, pushing her down and exhausting her without her even doing anything.   
  
She sits up in bed and rubs the sleep from her eye before she notices a man sitting on a chair near the end of her bed. He looks up from the book he was reading and snaps it shut gently.   
  
“You’re awake,” he observes.   
  
She remembers him. Vaguely. He’d been hanging around this strange place last night. She looks over his silver locks and pegs him to be in his twenties, at least. She glances out the window and sure enough, this is not her reality. There are things flying around outside, vines shooting from the concrete ground and spiralling up houses and buildings. This isn’t real. It can’t be.   
  
“Who are you?” she asks the man “And where am I?”   
  
“I knew you weren’t supposed to be here,” the man sighs “My name is Narukami Yu. You can just call me by my first name. You’re in a place called the Metaverse.”   
  
It doesn’t feel real and yet Shiho has had enough dreams to be able to tell that the blanket on her feels too real, she even feels pain when she pinches herself.   
  
She looks at the man and Yu isn’t saying anything. He’s just watching her like she’s some sort of puzzle he can’t quite figure out yet.   
  
She blinks “Well...what’s the Metaverse?”   
  
Yu laughs, he leans back in his chair and shakes his head “That’s a question that has a very long answer,” he tells her “The short version is it’s another world. A cognitive world. Leave the hows and whys and just accept that this is it.”   
  
It’s a lot to take in at face value but Shiho can tell he’s not going to tell her any more than that. She nods slowly and glances outside. It looks like hell on earth.   
  
Yu makes a noise and Shiho turns her attention back to him. He’s leaning back in his chair, his face that of deep thought as he watches her curiously.   
  
“How did you get here?” he asks “Through a TV?”   
  
“What?” Shiho blinks “No. I used an app…”   
  
She pulls her cell phone up and sure enough, the creepy red eye app is still there on her phone. She turns it around to show Yu and the man laughs.   
  
“Things have changed,” he hums “But then if you have that app, I can only assume you have it for a reason. Not just anyone could wander through a TV which means not just anyone has that app.”   
  
Shiho shrugs. She doesn’t even know what any of this is. She looks back at her phone and frowns “So...in theory...if I press this app again, it should take me back home.”   
  
Yu nods “That should work,” he says “But before you go home, I think there’s something you need to do. If you’re here, there’s a reason.”   
  
“Does there have to be?” Shiho asks “That app just showed up on my phone and when I tapped it, I ended up here. Maybe there isn’t a reason.”   
  
Yu shakes his head, the smile on his face is both annoying and calming and Shiho doesn’t know how he does that. At least, in a sense, there’s something about him that feels pretty safe.   
  
“If you’re here, that can only mean one of two things,” Yu says “And I don’t think you’re the second option so you’re probably the first. You’re a potential Persona User and if you don’t realise that yet, maybe I can help you.”   
  
Shiho frowns, she has no idea what he’s talking about but he sounds so confident and calm that she simply nods.   
  
“Okay.”   
  
* * *   
  
Akira is called in by the detectives shortly after lunchtime. He heads out of class and follows the officers to the interview room they’ve borrowed. It’s kind of a familiar sight for him. One officer at the desks, the other hovering near the window looking grumpy and far too quiet to just be listening. Akira sits at the desks and glances at the recording device, then at the small book of notes the detective keeps.   
  
“Kurusu Akira, is it?” the detective asks with a small smile. He’s playing the good cop.   
  
Akira nods and the officer continues “We just want to ask you a few questions about what happened. Did you know Minagawa well?”   
  
“I haven’t been at this school long enough to know anyone that well,” Akira confesses and it’s true, he’s barely been here a week.   
  
The officer notes that down in his book and hums “You came from Tokyo, correct? Our records say you were on probation for a previous crime.”   
  
Akira narrows his eyes and leans back “I was cleared of that crime,” he reminds them “It’s on the records. I was falsely accused.”   
  
Also, if the police had done their jobs in the first place, he’d have never been arrested and sent to Tokyo. But he’s not looking to stir up trouble with these officers yet.   
  
The kinder officer smiles and nods “Yes, that’s on our records too. Still, it shows you as either in the wrong place at the wrong time or you’re a bit of a troublemaker yourself.”   
  
They’ve labelled him already. Akira can see it in their eyes.   
  
He doesn’t answer and the officer continues “Before the murder of your teacher, there were supposedly some Phantom Thief posters calling him out. Did you see those?”   
  
“Hard to miss them,” Akira folds his arms “They were all over the walls.”   
  
“Yes, apparently so,” the officer chuckles “But the Phantom Thieves were once big in Tokyo too. During the time of your probation, in fact.”   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to get to the point.   
  
“Even more interesting is that the activities of the Phantom Thieves began in the very school you were sent to,” the officer points out “You must have seen some things.”   
  
Akira takes a deep breath “From what I remember, the Phantom Thieves target criminals and although I haven’t been at this school long, Minagawa had plenty of rumours about him already. Perhaps they were true.”   
  
“Rumours?” the officer frowns “Like what?”   
  
“Student abuse, specifically,” Akira shrugs and looks uninterested “I dunno, they’re rumours. But if they’re true, then perhaps the Phantom Thieves had cause to target him.”   
  
The officer takes this into account and hums “Still...they’re a long way away from Tokyo, wouldn’t you agree?”   
  
Akira shrugs and he doesn’t know what more he can offer them. He keeps silent and the officer stares at him for awhile but once he realises that Akira is going to out-stare him, he gives up and puts his notebook away.   
  
“Very well, Kurusu-kun. You may go,” the officer says.   
  
Akira gets up and heads for the door. Just before he can leave however, the officer speaks up again.   
  
“If you hear of anything else, please let us know.”   
  
With a solemn nod, Akira opens the door and heads out. He walks down the corridor deep in thought. That was the best he could do as far as acting goes but it’s clear the police are tying this together. If the Phantom Thieves are here, then it would make sense to target those from the Phantom Thieves’ original area and that is Tokyo. Furthermore, he and Ryuji would be under the most scrutiny for coming from the very school where the Phantom Thieves began their work.   
  
The police are probably going to look at both of them very closely.   
  
He turns the corner and he’s almost in class before someone grabs his wrist and pulls him away from the classroom door. Akira looks up to see familiar brown hair and eyes that haunt him even when he’s not looking at them.   
  
Akechi presses a finger to his own lips and pulls Akira into a supply cupboard. Akira follows and doesn’t fail to notice that Akechi is holding his hand even when the door shuts them safely inside.   
  
“I had to talk to you alone,” Akechi confesses.   
  
The supply cupboard is a little tiny and full of crap but there’s enough room to stand. Akira reaches for the light switch and turns to look at the other.   
  
“I just…” Akechi clears his throat “About what happened last night…the kiss, I mean…”   
  
Oh god. Oh shit he wants to talk about that. Akira isn’t ready to talk about that. It’s uncool of him to be so flustered and admittedly, he’s really not used to it but he can’t do this. Not now.   
  
“Akira, I think you’re probably the only person in the world who understands me as I am right now,” Akechi fumbles slightly and Akira realises he isn’t the only one feeling flustered. “Ever since I got here and saw you again I…”   
  
Akira places his hand on Akechi’s chest, stopping the other from talking and watches him. Despite the butterflies raging like mad in his stomach, he forces himself to be his normal, cool, calm self.   
  
“Give me time,” he tells the other and Akechi blinks in surprise. He obviously hadn’t been expecting that answer. “I need time to think about this,” Akira continues “So just...please...give me time.”   
  
Something in Akechi’s gaze softens and he nods “All the time in the world,” he promises and Akira knows he isn’t going to need that long to figure this out.   
  
Akechi glances at the door and takes a short breath “They called me in before, I better see the detectives and answer their questions.”   
  
Akira lets him go, assuming that Akechi is just gonna come out of the supply closet first and head off but before he realises it’s coming, Akechi leans in and presses a small kiss to his cheek instead. It takes Akira completely by surprise and once again, he doesn’t get the time to react before Akechi’s already pulling away.   
  
“I’ll see you around,” Akechi promises and heads out of the supply closet, his brown locks glinting under the light as he disappears and lets the door close gently behind him.   
  
Akira leans back on the wall, gives himself a moment to process what just happened and there’s no mistaking the painful way his heart is slamming against his ribcage.   
  
Either Akechi is trying to kill him or he’s going to later.   
  
The day continues after that and just like Akira asked him to, Akechi gives him time. He doesn’t try anything more after that and even when he comes back to class and takes his seat behind Akira, he seems calm and patient.   
  
When school lets out, Akira meets up with Akechi, Ryuji and Ishida in the cafe. He sits in the booth next to Ryuji and sighs as he places his bag next to himself and lets Morgana out to breathe.   
  
“That was nervewracking,” Ryuji complains and leans back into the booth chair “It was like they could see right through me and they knew everything.”   
  
Akechi seems as calm as ever as he orders a tea and turns his sharp eyes onto Ryuji “The truth of the matter is they don’t know anything. Much less the workings of the Metaverse.”   
  
“They did connect the fact that the Phantom Thieves came from Tokyo,” Ishida frowns “And since you three very recently came from Tokyo, isn’t that worrying?”   
  
“Not really,” Akechi nonchalantly waves the subject off “Tokyo is a large place and the only real connection is the fact that both Kurusu and Sakamoto came from Shujin Academy. Even then, they’d need more evidence than they have and for the most part, this can be passed off as coincidence.”   
  
Ryuji grumbles “It’s still too close for comfort. Akira’s been through probation and that’s on their records, they’ll be watching him.”   
  
“Yes,” Akechi hums, his eyes clouding over for a moment “That is the problem.”   
  
Ryuji takes a deep, exaggerated breath and slumps “Can’t you use your detective contacts? Do you have any left?”   
  
“Not anymore,” Akechi shakes his head “I’m a normal student now and that’s what I told them. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t return to that world.”   
  
Ishida looks at him, he bites his lip and stays silent for a moment before finally, hesitantly, speaking up “Um...how did the famous detective Akechi Goro - who spoke out against the Phantom Thieves - end up with them?”   
  
Ryuji averts his eyes, Akira rubs the back of his neck and Akechi looks at his tea in deep thought for a moment.   
  
“It’s just…” Ishida continues hesitantly “I’ve been following the story of the Phantom Thieves even when you were in Tokyo. I contacted Mishima for more information but...Akechi you were a surprise.”   
  
Akira watches Ishida quietly. Whilst it’s true that Ishida is now definitely one of them, he wasn’t with them last year and he didn’t go through the truth of what Akechi had done to them and what he’d sacrificed in the end for them.   
  
It’s Ryuji who answers the question first.   
  
“He’s been through a lot,” the blonde says, almost too casually for it to be really casual “We clashed heads at one point but he’s definitely one of us now. Right, Akechi?”   
  
Even Akechi seems surprised but he nods. It’s vague and skims over the most important parts but Akira wonders if Ishida really needs to know about all of that so soon. Maybe later once he’s gotten closer to all of them.   
  
Ishida seems to get it as well. There’s quite obviously a lot more to it - like how the hell a detective who was so openly against the Phantom Thieves suddenly ends up with them - but he seems to understand that he’s not going to get that information right now.   
  
“So what do we do now?” Ryuji asks, smoothly changing the subject “We have to find out who the fake Phantom Thieves are but the police are watching us.”   
  
Akechi nods in agreement “It’s the worst situation for us. Whoever is behind this must know we’re now in a bind and they set it up like that on purpose. If the person who shot Minagawa is also the person we met in the Metaverse - or has some relation to him - then we’ve been perfectly set up.”   
  
Ishida takes a deep breath and shakes his head “So can we actually do anything?”   
  
“No,” Akechi decides “We can’t make a move without it being noticed. The only thing that could turn things in our favour would be if we were somehow able to add a player the fake Phantom Thieves would not see coming.”   
  
Morgana hums in the bag “By the sounds of that, you already have an idea in mind, Akechi-kun.”   
  
“Give me until the end of the day to see it through,” Akechi promises “It may come to nothing and it’s a gamble but it might buy us some much needed time to figure our way out of this.”   
  
They finish their drinks and Ishida heads home first. Akechi leaves next and Ryuji turns to Akira.   
  
“Come back to mine,” he says “I got something else I need to talk to you about...nothing to do with what I had to talk about this morning, promise.”   
  
Akira picks up his bag with Morgana inside and follows Ryuji out. As they walk down the streets, he thinks about what he’d asked of Akechi and finds himself wondering what it is he really wants out of all of this. There’s no doubt in his mind that he’s going to need Akechi in order to sleep tonight but still…   
  
He follows Ryuji back home and Ryuji takes him upstairs to his room. He clears up a space and brings out the chair from his desk for Akira to sit on.   
  
“Your room is as messy as always, Ryuji,” Morgana scolds as he climbs out of Akira’s backpack and jumps up onto the desk “Why don’t you try cleaning it for once?”   
  
“This is organised mess,” Ryuji defends himself as he brushes a sock off his bed and sits down “And anyway, my room isn’t the issue here. I wanted to talk about something serious…” he pauses and glances at Morgana insecurely “Um...human stuff...Morgana can you buzz off for a bit?”   
  
“Wha-how rude!” Morgana exclaims “You think I wouldn’t understand human things?! I’m human dammit!”   
  
Ryuji winces and Akira tilts his head. What’s bothering Ryuji this time?   
  
“I will remain right here,” Morgana insists and curls up on the desk “Whatever you have to say to him you can say to me too.”   
  
Ryuji makes this noise that’s kind of a growl and a groan but he gives up and turns to Akira “So I had this dream last night-”   
  
“I heard, you were moaning and groaning,” Morgana interrupts as he licks his paw “Must have been a bad dream.”   
  
Ryuji glares at the cat and turns back to Akira “Help me out man, you’re the only one I can actually talk to about this stuff. I can’t talk to Ann about it because...it’s weird. I can’t talk to Yusuke about it because it’s even weirder…”   
  
“How about Akechi?” Akira suggests but he can’t keep the smirk from his face, he’s kidding.   
  
Still Ryuji reels back and shakes his head “Hell no! I’m not talking about...about THIS...t-to him, are you nuts?!”   
  
Akira laughs and Ryuji sulks. He lets the other laugh at him for a moment before he sighs “I had a dream, alright. In that dream there was…” he pauses, trying to find a delicate way to say it “I was lying down in bed and there was….something….someone on my…”   
  
Oh. That kind of dream.   
  
Akira glances at Morgana and sure enough, the cat has not caught onto where this is going. Ryuji looks a little nervous as well but he continues bravely “When I looked down...the person had a hood over...them...so I couldn’t see who it was. All I knew was that it was good and then I pulled the hood back and….and shit man…”   
  
Akira rubs his ear and shakes his head “Aren’t those dreams...you know...normal?”   
  
God knows he’s had plenty and they don’t bother him.   
  
“The problem is I have no idea who it was I was thinking of,” Ryuji complains “I mean I thought...maybe...it was Ann but…”   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow at him “Ann?”   
  
“What about Lady Ann?” Morgana perks up. It’s obvious he hasn’t been following this conversation quite as well as Akira has because he has no idea what Ryuji’s been dreaming of.   
  
Ryuji shrugs “We had a thing for awhile...at least I thought we did. Of all the girls I know, she’s the one who makes the most sense. Calls me out on my bullshit and I’ll never admit this to her but I kind of like it when she does that.”   
  
Akira still doesn’t quite know where Ryuji’s going with this and he waits for the blonde to spit it out.   
  
“Would it be so bad?” Ryuji asks, almost insecurely.   
  
Akira tilts his head “You’re asking me for advice on whether or not you and Ann could be a thing?” he frowns “Why are you asking me?”   
  
Ryuji groans “Because you’re my best friend and if it were to be a thing, would it be weird?”   
  
The irony is that Ryuji was just talking this morning about Akira’s supposed relationship with Akechi and now they’re talking about Ryuji and Ann. More specifically about Ryuji’s dreams of Ann giving him head.   
  
Well Akira never expects Ryuji to be classy.   
  
Morgana looks between Akira and Ryuji, his mind slowly catching up and his tail goes stiff “Oy!” he snaps at Ryuji “Are you talking about stealing Lady Ann away?!”   
  
Ryuji reels a little and looks at him “So?”   
  
“So?!” Morgana screeches “So she deserves better! She deserves-” he pauses and scowls “What does she even have to do with your dream anyway?”   
  
Akira sighs. The cat can’t be left in the dark if he intends to be a human. He leans over to whisper the answer in Morgana’s furry ear and the cat gets even angrier.   
  
“YOU!” he snaps “YOU WERE DREAMING OF ANN DOING….DOING THAT...SHE’D NEVER PUT THAT IN HER MOU...YOU HUMANS ARE DISGUSTING!”   
  
“Says the one who licks his ass and claims he’s human,” Ryuji scowls but he still seems quite torn up about it. He groans “The thing is, my dream, I don’t know if it was Ann. I couldn’t see who was doing it.”   
  
Akira shrugs “Maybe you just want someone, anyone, to give you head?” he suggests.   
  
Ryuji doesn’t seem to know himself and Morgana still looks quite disgusted at him.   
  
What Akira doesn’t understand is why Ryuji seems to be so uncomfortable. Sure, talking about this stuff has never really been Akira and Ryuji’s forte but it’s not as though Akira has no idea what he’s talking about. As a guy, he can understand. Almost every guy can...except for maybe Yusuke. Nobody knows what’s going on in that mind.   
  
“What if I wasn’t thinking of Ann?” Ryuji mutters and he’s so quiet that even Akira just barely hears him. Akira doesn’t press it, clearly something else is on Ryuji’s mind and the fact that he’s not talking about that yet means he’s not ready to.   
  
Eventually Ryuji shakes his head and clears his throat “Anyway, that wasn’t all I wanted to talk about. Morgana-” he turns to the cat who still looks disgusted “Since the Metaverse is back, do you think that means Mementos is as well?”   
  
The cat sits up a little and sighs “It’s possible,” he confesses “But if there is, there’s a chance it’s not like the previous Mementos. Mementos is, at it’s core, the collective cognition of the whole and we’re not in Tokyo anymore. Not to mention at the root of Mementos last time was the Holy Grail and we made sure to destroy that last time.”   
  
Akira folds his arms “So...in essence, if Mementos does exist, it’s not going to be the same.”   
  
“It would make sense if it wasn’t,” Morgana admits “But I haven’t felt it and that’s possibly because of whatever brought the Metaverse back in the first place. But the cognition of the general public in a small town like this...it would make sense if it wasn’t a train station.”   
  
Ryuji looks at the app on his phone and hums to himself “Maybe...if we find someone who might have a shadow in Mementos, we can start there and the nav might be able to take us there.”   
  
Akira thinks about contacting Mishima again, perhaps pulling up the website and establishing the presence of the Phantom Thieves would help. If they could somehow distinguish themselves from the fake group that goes around killing people, they might stand a chance at gathering a following that recognises them and allows them deeper into Mementos.   
  
He pulls out his phone and shoots a message out to Mishima. Just after he does, his phone buzzes and Akechi’s name turns up on the screen. Akira ignores the small jump his heart does and puts the phone to his ear.   
  
_“Kurusu,”_ Akechi’s voice sounds on the other end, the other understands right off the bat that Akira isn’t going to talk unless he has to. Even on the phone. _“I’ve managed to secure an ally that will buy us some time whilst we figure out what we’re up against. Do you have some time?”_   
  
Akira has all the time in the world where Akechi is concerned but he doesn’t tell him that.   
  
_“Meet at mine tonight at seven,”_ Akechi continues, taking Akira’s silence as a yes _“Make sure you’re not followed.”_   
  
He hangs up and Akira glances at the phone before sticking it back in his pocket. He sighs “Morgana, stay with Ryuji again tonight.’’   
  
“What?!” both exclaim at the same time.   
  
“I can’t leave either of you two alone,” Akira explains “Not whilst I don’t know what we’re up against. Akechi might have something that can help us.”   
  
Ryuji makes a face “Dude of course Akechi has something that can help us. Even when he’s not evil, he’s annoyingly smart.”   
  
Morgana just narrows his eyes at Ryuji and huffs “Fine. But just know that if you start moaning in your sleep and if you say Lady Ann’s name, I’m going to jump on you.”   
  
Shaking his head, Akira leaves it be. If Morgana and Ryuji are together, they’ll be safe and Ishida is probably not even in the radar of the fake thieves so he should be safe too. He thinks about the ally Akechi managed to talk over and he’s got a sneaking feeling he knows who it is.”   
  
With some luck, they might be able to buy some time before the fake thieves make their move.   
  
Later that night, when Akira knocks on the door, he can’t help but smile when Akechi opens. He wonders how the other manages to look so innocent all the time when Akira actually knows he’s probably the devil incarnate and not just because he tried to kill him last year.   
  
Akechi lets him in and when Akira walks into the living room, he’s not at all surprised to see Sae standing there waiting for him.   
  
“I thought you’d be in the middle of this,” Sae sighs and crosses her arms “Once I heard some noise of the Phantom Thieves again in this little town, I thought _‘oh god he’s back’_ ”   
  
Akira shrugs and sticks his hands in his pockets “At least I’m consistent,” he points out with a grin.   
  
Sae looks annoyed “You’re a pain in the ass is what you are. What are you thinking, making moves now?”   
  
“We had no choice,” Akechi answers before Akira can “Sae-san, there’s more to this situation than the police know.”   
  
“I figured,” Sae still sounds tired “Where the Phantom Thieves are concerned, there’s always more to the story than the police will ever know. I may be in charge of investigating this issue but you should know, I’m not in charge of the main ground investigation in this town. That has been assigned to someone else. All I can do is keep an eye on proceedings and guide them somewhere else. Now, tell me what’s going on.”   
  
Akechi glances at Akira and clears his throat “Well,”  he says pleasantly “You’re going to be here awhile then. I’ll make some tea.”   
  
He wanders off to the kitchen and Sae, realising she probably will be here a lot longer than she originally anticipated, puts her bag down and sits on the sofa. Akira takes a seat in the armchair and looks up when Akechi comes back with drinks for them all.   
  
“Well then,” Sae sighs “Start explaining.”   
  
* * *   
  
When Ann arrives at the building where the meeting is to be, her agent meets her in the lobby. He looks frazzled but happy to see her.   
  
“I know this is very sudden,” he explains as he quickly takes her to the elevator “But this could be a huge break. Not only for the company but also for you. A role in a drama could get you noticed by other directors, it could be opening the door to more possibilities for you.”   
  
Ann blinks, she follows him into the elevator and as the doors close and take them up to the twenty first floor, she clears her throat “So...is there any reason why I was specifically asked for?” she questions.   
  
“She didn’t say,” her agent shrugs “But she was insistent on you filling in this role. It’s not a large role but it’s a very good start for a model like yourself. Consider it a miracle.”   
  
Ann frowns but leaves it be as the elevator stops on the eleventh floor and the doors open to reveal a boy around her age. Hovering behind him is a man with a large pile of papers in his arms and Ann steps aside to let them in.   
  
The boy is kind of beautiful, Ann notices, but there’s something else to it. She feels like she’s seen him somewhere before and since this building is generally used by entertainers, chances are, she’s seen his poster somewhere in Shibuya.   
  
As the elevator slowly goes up, Ann glances at the boy. He’s lean, about the same height as Ryuji. His eyes are a stunningly gorgeous turquoise and mildly hidden underneath a slightly damp shower of black hair with blue streaks. His skin is the kind that makes Ann slightly jealous, flawless with a slight idol glow. If the boy isn’t a model, he should be. He’s dressed in a black leather jacket with a white hoodie underneath, dark blue jeans and a telltale pair of black sunglasses hooked onto the pocket of his jacket.   
  
He’s famous enough to need it.   
  
“...my point is,” the man behind the papers - whom Ann can only assume is probably his agent - is saying, looking slightly exasperated “...is that we’ve had so many offers to boost your fame and appear on variety shows, music shows but you’ve turned them all down.”   
  
The boy looks somewhat bored “I’m not going to turn up on variety shows,” he winces “They make you do horrible things and expect you to still be smiling after that. I’m a musician, not a monkey.”   
  
“Well then music shows?” the man adds hopefully “We recently got an invite from Music Space, won’t you consider it?”   
  
The boy seems deep in thought and they’re almost at their floor when he looks at Ann and smiles “What do you think?”   
  
Ann’s eyes widen in surprise “Why are you asking me?”   
  
“Well I’m shit at making decisions,” the boy admits with a disarmingly charming grin “Seriously, I moped this morning for an hour over whether to have sunny side up eggs or pancakes and then I moped even more when I realised I couldn’t cook either anyway so I just ended up having water…”   
  
His agent suddenly looks extremely tired and Ann can’t help a smile. This boy may look perfect but he seems quite hopeless.   
  
“You’re a singer?” she asks and the boy shrugs.   
  
“Yes, he’s a singer,” his agent answers for him and looks at the boy, reprimanding him, “But you don’t belong in the unknown indies scene, you belong in the big leagues. You have such a small fanbase because nobody knows you, it’s time to branch out.”   
  
If the boy has really been invited to a show like Music Space, he has to be good. Ann shrugs “Why not just do it?” she suggests “It can’t hurt letting more people hear your music, can it?”   
  
The boy raises his eyebrows, as if he hadn’t thought of that, and nods slowly “I suppose not,” he concedes “It’s just...the fanbase I have is large…”   
  
“It is not,” his agent reminds him with a haughty sniff “Not for what you’re worth anyway, you should be bigger than you are.”   
  
“Music is personal,” the boy continues “It’s a piece of me, taken out and shown to the world and every time someone criticises me, it’s rather painful.”   
  
He reminds her of Yusuke. Only Yusuke releases his paintings regardless of the criticism he knows will come his way. He paints because he must, just like Ann suspects this boy sings because he must.   
  
“You need to learn to harden yourself against criticism,” she advises “It’ll come regardless of the size of your fanbase. But there will be people who love your work as well and they’ll be the ones that are worth it.”   
  
The elevator dings at last and the boy is still looking at her in surprise, as if he hadn’t thought of any of the things Ann had said. She bows and leaves the elevator with her agent. When the doors close behind her, the boy still looks surprised but there’s a smile on his pretty face.   
  
“I’ve heard he’s a problem child,” her own agent says as he leads her down the corridor “He’s known around these parts because of how much trouble his agent has with him. Can’t get him to do anything...anyway, the meeting is right here.”   
  
He opens a door that leads into a normal board room. One long table in the middle of the room with chairs on either side, papers and a few people from the production team of the drama. Ann follows her agent in and she’s barely sat down when the door opens again and a familiar face appears.   
  
Ann has seen her, tons of times over, all over posters and videos and moving trucks in Shibuya but she’s somehow much brighter in person. Kujikawa Rise is a tiny little thing, much smaller than her posters would suggest. Her long copper hair is tied in her signature pigtails and she wears a stripy pink and black top with sleeves that go well past her hands. There’s a black singlet underneath with a short white checkered shirt and galaxy leggings with high tops.   
  
The drama production team get up and bow but the second Rise sees Ann, she squeals and rushes to her as if they’ve been lifelong friends.   
  
“Takamaki Ann!” Rise beams and takes her hands “I saw you on the cover of a fashion magazine and just knew you had to play this role, thank you so much for accepting!”   
  
Ann raises her eyebrows but she can’t fault Rise’s enthusiasm. She smiles and nods “Well, it seemed like a good opportunity.”   
  
“And it is,” Rise grins ear to ear and holds Ann’s hands “You won’t regret it. I promise, I’ve been looking all over for someone like you.”   
  
It’s a little overwhelming but there’s something about Rise’s smile and even her infectious enthusiasm that feels somewhat genuine and even comforting. It’s familiar as well, like a kindred spirit or something, Ann feels a genuine and strange connection to her right away.   
  
She smiles “I hope I don’t let you down.”   
  
Rise’s smile is brighter than the sun “I’m sure you won’t.”   
  
* * *   
  
Shiho is exhausted as she sinks to her knees and looks up at the shadow standing before her. It’s awful. She’s been throwing everything she can at this shadow and it’s been throwing her all around like a ragdoll. She’s not even making a dent, nor does she have any idea what Yu is going on about when he talks about Personas.   
  
Standing off to the corner, Yu presses his fingers against the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache. He sighs and crosses his arms “I know this is difficult but a Persona is harnessed from a deep desire. A recognition of the wrong caused to you and a desire to change it. Do you feel none of that?”   
  
Shiho winces and tries to pick herself up again but it hurts. Everything hurts “The only desire I feel,” she winces again and sits back down “Is the desire to throw something at your head. We’ve been at this for hours.”   
  
“It’s a Jack Frost,” Yu points out as if that shadow is supposed to be weak “But if you have the energy to threaten me, then you still have the energy to form a Persona.”   
  
Shiho sighs. He’s been at this for awhile now and she still doesn’t understand what he wants from her. She looks at him and Yu is watching her as though she’s this complicated puzzle he can’t quite figure out yet. He tilts his head and hums.   
  
“There must have been something,” he says “Something to make you this way, something that granted you the ability to get to the Metaverse. Something happened in your past.”   
  
Shiho frowns and Yu gets up. He walks over to her and from behind him, a shadow appears. But it’s not like Jack Frost, it’s his own and in Shiho’s eyes, it’s dark. It deals with Jack Frost as one would deal with a fly and when the shadow is gone, Yu kneels down next to Shiho and watches her closely.   
  
“You’ve been wronged before,” he guesses “That’s the only reason you could be here. Who wronged you and why?”   
  
It’s like he can see right through her. Shiho feels his eyes pierce through her entire being and shakes her head. It brings up memories. Raw, broken memories that still hurt when she thinks about it long enough to let it hurt her.   
  
“Don’t,” she pleads quietly.   
  
“Tell me,” Yu says, his tone calm, quiet but slightly urging “If you don’t face it head on, it’ll haunt you.”   
  
That was just it though, Shiho thought she already had faced this. She thought she’d put it behind her, grown stronger, gotten up after her suicide attempt and never looked back but she’d left one crucial thing behind: she’d never faced it directly. Not the cause. She’d come to terms with how she’d dealt with it, how she’d jumped off the building and in her worst nightmares, it isn’t the fall she dreams of, it’s him.   
  
His hands on her, too close, it hurts, she doesn’t want it but she can’t scream. She can feel his breath, she feels his hands holding her too tightly, hurting her, bruising her and the cruelest smile because he knows she can’t run. She can’t tell anyone. No one will believe her and it’s the scariest, most helpless moment of her life.   
  
She whimpers and Yu places his hand on her shoulder.   
  
“Shiho,” he breathes “You need to stop running from it. I know it hurts but if you hide from it, your Persona will never come out and you’ll never recover.”   
  
It hurts. Too close. She wants him to stop but she can’t scream. It’s suffocating. Ann…   
  
She feels tears coming from her eyes, the memories are engulfing her and suddenly she’s there. In that office with Kamoshida watching her. Reminding her that this is Ann’s fault, she’s getting this because he can’t have Ann and he pushes her into the wall. He gropes her, she wants to scream but she can’t. She wants to run but she can’t. He hurts her, he bruises her skin, he pulls at her clothes…   
  
Screaming, Shiho puts her hands over her ears and curls up on the ground. She can still feel Yu right beside her, holding her still as she hears another voice in her head. Stronger than her own, angrier than her own, whispering in her head as if it had been there all along.   
  
_“That won’t work anymore, Shiho,”_ the voice chides her _“Stop running away and listen to me at last. The real demon is in your head and until you face it, this will happen again.”_   
  
Yu’s arms are around her now and it’s warm. Shiho leans into him subconsciously but the voice in her head is as loud as ever - and it’s making sense too.   
  
_“Take hold of it and don’t let go,”_ the voice advises her _“This is your last chance.”_   
  
“I hear you,” Shiho breathes.   
  
_“Then, are you finally ready to make a deal with me?”_ the voice asks _“I told you to last time and you weren’t listening. I’ll ask you one more time: Let me in.”_   
  
Shiho nods and it’s like a burst of power rushing through her very core. Yu steps back and watches as a shadow tears out of her very core, thrusting Shiho back up to her feet and lighting her on fire for one brilliant moment of pure light.   
  
When she emerges, she’s not in her school uniform anymore. Instead she’s wearing something she herself would not ordinarily wear. Her hair is out, long dark locks waving underneath a sky blue scarf that loops around her forehead and is tied at the back to flow with her hair. She’s wearing a white tank top with a black skull print on the front and ripped blue jeans with black boots. Overtop is a leather black coat that almost reaches her knees, her belt is armed with knives and guns and she feels the power rushing through her like adrenaline.   
  
It causes the shadows nearby to notice and when they swoop in, Shiho feels her shadow taking full form behind her. A great creature, tall and lithe, the image of beauty and an almost blue butterfly like appearance. The first shadow attacks and Shiho fights back. Standing behind her, Yu watches with a smile as Shiho’s main power appears to come straight from her own cursed pain, taking out those that would harm her in a flash of brilliant red light that kills on the spot.   
  
Then, at last, when it’s over and her shadow slinks back into her, Shiho stands alone, panting and exhausted but redeemed.   
  
She turns around and smiles at Yu.   
  
Then she hits the ground unconscious.   
  
* * *   
  
Akechi has already made three rounds of drinks and gone out once to get food by the time Sae gets a decent grasp on everything Akira explains. The problem with the story he tells her is that there are so many things he himself doesn’t know yet and he can’t even tell her about the Velvet Room or the fact that both he and Akechi seem to be joined somehow where that is concerned.   
  
Sae presses her fingers to her temples and sighs “A fake Phantom Thieves and somehow their activities have remained unknown until the murder of the principal.”   
  
“It is a small town and a small school,” Akechi points out with a shrug “The problems in that school, before we got there, mainly consisted of suicides and this country doesn’t concentrate on that enough. It would have been easy enough for the fake Phantom Thieves to use the school as their training ground. Presumably the moment they killed the principal was them coming off the training wheels - so to speak.”   
  
“Still, it’s concerning,” Sae admits “I won’t lie. The police have tied the recent murder of Minagawa to the Phantom Thieves. There’s no evidence, nor is it occurring to them that there are two Phantom Thief groups now.”   
  
Akechi hums “From my understanding, the real difference between both groups comes down to colour and the outcome. The fake team uses blue calling cards and their desired outcome is the death of the target, not a change of heart.”   
  
“It’s still not something the police would think to connect, they’d have to know about the Metaverse and how all of that works to begin with,” Sae points out “But now that I’m aware of it, perhaps I can use this information to buy you some time whilst you find out who the real culprits are. From what I’ve already gathered, it’s pretty obvious that whoever is behind this, has a lot of free time and is also connected enough to the school to be able to traverse through it mostly unnoticed. There’s a high chance that we’re dealing with high schoolers just like you.”   
  
That thought had occurred to Akira as well. It just made sense given the guy he’d seen in Minagawa’s palace.   
  
“The other thing is they’re not using the Metaverse to trigger breakdowns and kill their victims that way,” he adds “They seem to be killing them directly. Or at least the ones we’ve seen. The ones who committed suicide received the calling card but there’s no sign of emotional breakdowns or anything like that.”   
  
“That we know of,” Akechi points out “The truth is we’re kind of under informed when it comes to whatever happened before we got here. I’ve been keeping tabs on the case since before I arrived here but once I heard what happened to Kurusu here…” he glances at him and there’s a sliver of a smile and that’s when Akira gets it.   
  
Akechi had been keeping an eye on the happenings here but once he figured out Akira was going to walk right into it, he took measured steps to not only enroll himself in the same school and class, but also come out of hiding to get Akira out of police custody and keep an eye on him. There was no guarantee it was going to work out as well as it did and there was also no guarantee someone wasn’t going to kill him once they realised he was out of hiding but he’d done it anyway because Akira had been in danger.   
  
Akira feels his heart thud so painfully against his chest he actually forgets to breathe.   
  
Sae looks exhausted but she seems to understand that something serious is going on here and they need far more information than they have.   
  
“Okay,” she sighs to herself “Okay, here’s what I can do. If the current fake Phantom Thieves are looking for you, it would make sense that they may not have your names but they will have some idea of who you are. As students fresh out of Tokyo and especially Shujin, you stick out. What I can do is command a greater police presence in the school grounds to prevent attacks in the open. It’s not much but it should buy you some time to figure out who these people are.”   
  
Akira considers just letting them come and then finding out who they are but that probably wouldn’t end well.   
  
He watches as Sae finally gets up and pockets her phone “Alright,” she says “I’ll get started on the paperwork. Akechi, Kurusu, you need to move fast and if something goes wrong or if you think your lives are in danger, you need to call me immediately.”   
  
Both nod and Akira follows her to the door with Akechi. They wave goodbye, promise to contact her and when Akira closes the door, he thinks about what he’s learnt in the last hour about Akechi. The fact is, the other didn’t need to help. He’d seen the danger and he could have stayed in the shadows where he was safe. But once he found out Akira was involved, he didn’t. He came out immediately.   
  
Akira faces the door and places a hand to his chest. His heart is thudding like crazy and he remembers, distantly, what Haru said to him once about wanting to experience love that stops your breathing and makes your heart hurt.   
  
Was this it?   
  
“Kurusu,” Akechi says from where he’s standing behind him “You alright?”   
  
Akira slowly turns around and looks at the other. His bond with Akechi has been going on much longer than this. It started when they met in Tokyo and it just deepened as time went on but there had always been something there. Lurking underneath, a sliver of something that might have been had things been different and now here it is, a second chance and Akira isn’t stupid. He knows why everything just feels more intense when it comes to Akechi.   
  
Akechi gets this slightly self conscious look on his face when Akira doesn’t answer and he coughs, trying to find some time to say something else. Akira can practically see him scrambling for a topic, any topic, in his head.   
  
“Look, I know you said you wanted time but the fact is we can’t seem to sleep alone so if you want, I can take the floor and-”   
  
He doesn’t get to say much more than that. Akira steps forward and his hands, he distantly notices, are shaking even as he takes Akechi’s shoulders and gets this kind of confused look from the other. Akira leans forward and closes the gap, he kind of misses, kissing the corner of Akechi’s lips at first but after the first initial gasp and the stiffening of Akechi’s shoulders, the other sort of slides their lips together.   
  
It feels right. It did before and Akira doesn’t want to think about consequences or what on earth he’s going to tell the others because it shouldn’t matter and it doesn’t matter and he’s always done things in his own way - that’s why he’s their leader.   
  
Akechi’s lips feel...really nice. Unexpectedly warm, especially when he pushes back and sinks his hand into Akira’s curly locks. Akira doesn’t even realise the other is holding him until he distantly notices Akechi’s arm around his middle, pulling him in closer.   
  
They pull away only when breathing becomes a thing they need and Akira doesn’t open his eyes. Akechi’s hair is so, unbelievably soft between his fingers and the other smells nicer than Akira had originally noticed.   
  
Akechi’s breath hits his face in a slight laugh and he shakes his head “You will be the death of me, Kurusu Akira.”   
  
Akira just smirks and leans in again “Since you were the death of me last time, it’s probably your turn.”   
  
He kisses the ex-detective before Akechi can have the last word and feels Akechi pulling him, guiding him blindly back towards the bedroom. Akira follows and they both have their eyes closed so naturally when Akechi bumps into and walks into tables, counters and doors, he swears a little against Akira’s lips but he never pulls back.   
  
They make it into the dark room and Akechi doesn’t bother with the lights. He just stops and pulls back a little so he can see Akira’s face. Even in the darkness, Akira can see the contours and lines on Akechi’s face, overthinking this, wondering what’s next for them.   
  
“Just checking,” Akechi blinks “Did you need more time or was that it? Did you make up your mind?”   
  
Akira thinks he probably made up his mind last year when he came home and said ‘honey I’m home’ to Akechi. Somewhere in his mind, Akechi had always been just there and it had taken losing him and getting him back again to make Akira realise he really doesn’t want to lose him again.   
  
Not if he can help it.   
  
He kicks the door closed and blocks out the light of the living room before gently pushing Akechi down onto his bed “Time’s up,” he says.   
  
Akechi’s laugh echoes and bounces on the walls, heard by no one but Akira.   
  
* * *   
  
When the meeting finishes, Rise insists on spending more time with Ann - much to the exasperation of her exhausted managers. They eventually concede to letting the two spend some time in Shibuya. Rise has to wear sunglasses and a cap. She has to bunch her hair up and hide it underneath a hood that drapes over the cap but she’s otherwise fairly hidden.   
  
Ann takes her to Starbucks near the crossing and the two pick a window seat to watch the night rush of people over the crossing.   
  
“It’s strange,” Rise says, her fingers tapping on her coffee cup. She removes her glasses but keeps the hood up as she turns to Ann “But when I read the script and thought about how the drama was going to work, I could only think about you filling in the role.”   
  
Ann stirs her drink and carefully sets the stick aside. She takes a sip and turns to the other girl “Why me?” she asks curiously “Don’t get me wrong, I’m interested in the drama - it sounds fantastic and I have been wanting to enter acting for awhile but why me?”   
  
Rise hums and there’s something playful in her eye. Like she could tell Ann the real reason but she doesn’t really want to.   
  
“I saw you in this magazine awhile ago,” she confesses “Last year - I think. You were posing near the bridge and I just thought….perfect. I knew right away that you weren’t an ordinary girl and I also knew you must have been through quite a lot to get to where you are now.”   
  
Not a wrong assessment, Ann thinks. She has been through quite a bit. Even without the Phantom Thieves, she’d still had to deal with Kamoshida and rumours long before Akira arrived.   
  
“I won’t lie,” Rise continues, her eyes flicking back to her cup as her manicured nails pick at the sticker “I did have another reason for picking you. Aside from the fact that you just fill the role in that drama so well, there was also something I...personally...wanted.”   
  
Ann frowns and Rise seems to take her time with her drink before she finally continues “A few years ago, I took a break from show business. I had lost touch with who the real me was. Rise or Risette. I was getting popular, I was getting really big but it started to get too much and that’s when I took that break.”   
  
She rests her chin on her hand and looks over the crowd “To go from a big city to a small town...there were some who thought I was crazy but having my own time to myself gave me experiences I wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to have.”   
  
Ann thinks about Akira and Ryuji. Her two friends who should have stayed with her through her last year. She’d never been good at making friends, not when people judge her and push her off right away. But they’re gone and she feels the gap they left. The look in Rise’s eyes is the same as Ann’s.   
  
“I had friends,” Rise says gently “Friends who didn’t expect anything other than for me to be myself. Now I’m back here and I...confess I’m losing myself again..” she laughs bitterly at herself and takes another sip of her drink “What a terrible idol I am. Not even able to stick it out like others. Thank goodness I’m not in a girl group.”   
  
“You have it hard as a solo idol anyway,” Ann points out “It’s harder than it looks.”   
  
Rise blinks, she looks surprised but she tucks it behind a smile and nods “Thank you. But that’s why I chose you, I was hoping...by picking a new face - one who hasn’t been through the social ring that is show business - I might finally meet someone real. Someone like my old friends.”   
  
“What happened to your old friends?” Ann asks “Even if they’re far away, they’re still your friends.”   
  
A dark look suddenly comes over Rise’s face and she stares into the crowd covering the crossing. “They’re gone,” she says quietly, almost too quietly.   
  
Ann frowns and she wants to ask what Rise means by ‘gone’ but it would be probing too deep and it’s clear by the look on Rise’s face that it’s not a topic she wants to go back to.   
  
Rise takes another sip and with a wipe, that look is gone and she slaps on a smile again like it’s second nature. It probably is “I’m looking forward to working with you, Ann-chan. If you need anything, tips on how to get through this drama, just ask me.”   
  
That was why she chose Ann. She wanted a friend. Ann smiles and nods. Maybe this year won’t be so lonely after all.   
  
She goes back to her drink and finishes it, missing the way Rise looks at her, like she’s scared and there’s too much on her mind. If Ann only knew what Rise was thinking.   
  
* * *   
  
It’s happening again.   
  
It’s strange, to wake up and feel something other than either utter tiredness or a strange refreshing feeling of a good nights sleep.   
  
Ryuji is only half conscious when he feels something warm and really, really good floating up through his senses, making his toes curl and a moan come out from his mouth. He opens his eyes and looks up at his ceiling, half aware of the feeling coming from between his legs, making his eyes roll back.   
  
Shit whoever’s down there is really good at this.   
  
He reaches down and pulls the blankets up. Once again, just like last time, the person there is wearing a hood. They’re clothed. That’s not right, he can’t be the only naked one here, he’s pretty sure that’s not how sex works.   
  
“Hey,” Ryuji grins and reaches for the hood “You can’t just suck a guy off and not show your face.”   
  
The person ignores him and keeps sucking and it feels too good. Damn, they’re **really** good at this.   
  
Ryuji pushes the hood back, expecting to see the telltale long, blonde hair he thought should be there. But instead what he sees is blue hair. The person between Ryuji’s legs takes Ryuji out of his mouth, looks up and smiles.   
  
It’s Yusuke.   
  
Gasping, Ryuji sits up in bed and it takes him a couple of seconds to realise that: Yusuke isn’t here. He’s alone in bed. He’s achingly hard. Morgana is sitting at the end of the bed staring at him as if he’s insane.   
  
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Morgana asks “You’re officially the worst bedmate. Tossing and turning like that, how is a cat supposed to sleep around here?”   
  
Ryuji can’t answer, he’s still panting and bewildered. He’d dreamt about Yusuke. Oh god. He’d dreamt about Yusuke sucking him off and the worst part was that he’d liked it enough to still be hard now, oh shit, oh fuck.   
  
Morgana finally notices the tent on the sheet and frowns “What’s that?”   
  
Ryuji finally jumps into action, he puts his hands over it and curls up, trying to hide it “Stop looking!” he exclaims “Pervert cat.”   
  
“Pervert?!” Morgana exclaims. Something clicks in his eyes because he suddenly gets it and stands up on his paws “You better not have been dreaming about Lady Ann again!”   
  
Ryuji pants and he hates how his hardness rubbing against his leg is actually making the problem worse, not better. He gets up and stumbles off to the bathroom, closing the door quietly - because his mother is sleeping in the room down the hall - and leaning against the bathroom sink.   
  
He looks down, he has to fix this. He can’t jerk off in bed and he doesn’t even really want to jerk off when the cause of it is Kitagawa bloody Yusuke but he doesn’t have a choice.   
  
He’s not gay. He’s not into Yusuke. He certainly doesn’t think that the artist has an exceptionally beautiful face when it’s right between his legs-fuck, shit, stop thinking about it.   
  
Ryuji snaps himself out of it and looks down at the problem in his pants.   
  
Okay. He can do this. This is not his first ‘problem’ and he can solve it like a normal teenage boy. Think about a girl, any girl will do, rub it off and go back to bed feeling a little more tired than before. Easy. He looks down and slowly sticks his hand in his pants. With his other hand, he braces himself against the sink and feels a small sense of relief when he wraps his hand around himself.   
  
Okay. Girl. Ann. Ann will do. She’s pretty, he can actually be attracted to her. He thinks about her blonde hair and feels a sense of relief when he reacts to it. He thinks about the way she grins at him when there’s something only they’re aware of, or the way she’s totally unaware that Ryuji stares at the outline of her bra under her school shirt when she’s not looking.   
  
Ann is beautiful. Ann is a girl. Ryuji can get on board with this and when his hand starts getting faster, he closes his eyes and he can see her. Swimsuit Ann. Laughing Ann. Ann crying when she thought he’d died.   
  
He’s close, he can feel it. Ryuji bites his lip and tries to concentrate.   
  
Girls. Girls. He likes girls. There’s nothing…   
  
Unbidden, Yusuke turns up in his mind. He’s smiling at him from across the room, his hand curls around Ryuji’s arm when Ryuji tries to get out of bed to avoid sharing it with another guy, Yusuke’s voice, pleading that Ryuji stay, pleading that he comes back to Tokyo where it’s not as dangerous. Yusuke’s raw, worried emotion and finally dream Yusuke between his legs.   
  
With the quietest and most pitiful groan, Ryuji finishes and it’s Yusuke that did it. He ignores the horrible feeling of shame that washes over him and the feeling of warmth on his hand. Instead he concentrates on what had made him finish.   
  
It wasn’t Ann, it was Yusuke and Ryuji doesn’t even have enough energy to lie to himself and say he hadn’t enjoyed it when he saw Yusuke in his mind.   
  
“Shit,” Ryuji breathes, his breath coming in fast as he tries and fails to ignore what this means. It can’t mean that, Ryuji’s not…   
  
“Shit,” he says again and sinks down to sit on the cold, tile floor.   
  
He tries to deny it, to ignore it but Yusuke’s in his head and it’s terrifying.   
  
Ryuji pulls his knees up and curls against the bathtub.   
  
“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!  
> Just thought I'd give a heads up, there is probably going to be like a three week gap between this chapter and the next (maybe) because of various things happening in Tokyo such as concerts, 24 hour TV and idol stuff (a very expensive way of living, I've gotta say but the pretty idols are always worth it) but yeah just to put that out there.  
> I love your comments and your enthusiasm! It gives me life and just convinces me I have to write faster really so thank you all and I'll see you next time ;)


	8. The Fifth Season

**4/22 - Friday**  
  
Akira recognises the feeling of floating long before he opens his eyes again and he can’t help the deep sigh that escapes him. He wonders if he’ll ever have just one uninterrupted night where he’ll sleep and not dream of waking up somewhere in the Metaverse.  
  
Opening his eyes, he slowly pushes himself into a sitting position and recognises Akechi already awake on the other sofa. The other is looking tired and just as annoyed that they can’t ever seem to get one night of uninterrupted sleep.  
  
“So you’re both here,” Igor speaks, sounding pleased “The recent circumstances were surprising.”  
  
“Were they really?” Akechi questions as he runs a hand through his fluffy hair. Akira gets momentarily distracted by that and turns to Igor before someone notices him staring. “You seem less surprised about the events that unfolded after Minagawa’s palace.”  
  
Igor turns his eyes to Akechi and smiles “Believe me. Whilst I can logically predict how events will unfold, I cannot foresee surprising events. I do believe the death of Minagawa will reflect badly on the Phantom Thieves.”  
  
It already has. The fact that the police are probably looking at them a lot more closely means they have to keep their heads down - which doesn’t give them much room or time for looking into who the fake Phantom Thieves are.  
  
Akira spots Lavenza watching them both. She holds her book close to her chest as usual and stays silent as Igor continues.  
  
“However, there is some good news,” he says “You both seem to have grown stronger. The new layout of the Metaverse no longer exhausts you as it previously had. Not to mention your union has made you stronger.”  
  
That makes both of them stop. Akechi shoots Akira this really confused look and turns back to Igor “Union?”  
  
“Your relationship has deepened, has it not?” Lavenza questions and it’s not so much a question as it is a statement. Her eyes feel like they’re piercing through both of them and there’s no doubt she can see everything, she knows what happened already.  
  
It’s Akechi who answers first, indignantly “That has nothing to do with our powers,” he snaps “That’s…”  
  
“Your intent was not connected to strengthening your powers, it’s true,” Igor agrees “But your union has made you both stronger.”  
  
Akira shifts uncomfortably. He’s never heard a relationship described as a ‘union’. It makes it sound like another contract. Like he and Akechi had just been chanting ‘I am thou, thou art I’ before they decided to start doing this.  
  
He doesn’t even have a name for what they are. They haven’t talked about it and they haven’t really wanted to talk about it either. It’s only been a couple of hours. In a way, it also feels invasive that Lavenza and Igor even know about this and claim it is related to strengthening their powers.  
  
Akechi looks kind of annoyed as well as he waves the topic off with his hand “What I’m mostly concerned with is whether or not you can offer any advice as to what we do now. The police are going to be keeping a very close eye on us which does not allow us much time to search out the people responsible for killing Minagawa.”  
  
Igor hums “Have you considered that the people responsible for both the murder of the principal and Minagawa are also the people behind the fake Phantom Thieves?”  
  
Akechi looks almost insulted “Of course I have,” he replies calmly “But I don’t have any connecting proof other than the fact that the fake Phantom Thieves would somehow stand to gain and profit from their deaths.”  
  
“How like a detective,” Lavenza breathes, her tone and eyes full of admiration “You do not make assumptions. That is wise.”  
  
“Nevertheless, your enemy is still shrouded in mystery and you are no closer to figuring out who they are,” Igor points out grimly “It is not only you two who are in danger. All your comrades are as well. Your fate, as well as theirs, rests in the next few days. Your actions will be critical to deciding who lives and who dies.”  
  
Akira’s head starts to hurt. A slow, throbbing pain starting somewhere around his left temple and slowly spreading to his head. He holds his head in one hand and closes his eyes. He can hear his voice again, that blue haired boy warning him over and over.  
  
‘They know you’re here’ he says softly ‘They know everyone is here.’  
  
Lavenza glances at Akira and frowns when she sees the boy holding his head with both hands now “Kurusu?” she says, her hand extending out to him.  
  
“Akira?” Akechi calls, sounding far more alarmed as he gets off his couch and goes around the coffee table to sit at Akira’s couch instead. He wraps a warm arm around Akira’s back and leans in “Akira, what’s wrong?”  
  
It hurts. It all hurts. It feels like someone is sticking a hot rod into his brain and Akira barely manages a sound as he curls up into his knees and curls his fingers in his hair.  
  
He hears Igor humming “It seems we have another player in the Metaverse…”  
  
Then it fades. Akechi’s concern, Igor’s voice, even Lavenza. Everything fades and as Akira’s headache begins to ebb away, he opens his eyes and he’s not in the Velvet Room anymore. He’s on the train.  
  
He looks up and everyone is gone. Akechi, Lavenza and Igor are gone, replaced instead with the blue haired boy who sits on the opposite side of the train, his dark eyes blankly staring at Akira and one leg crossed over the other. His headphones still sit over his shoulders, music quietly playing from them as the train heading to nowhere continues to roll underground.  
  
Akira looks around and sighs. This Metaverse is fucking insane.  
  
“I imagine you’re confused right about now,” the blue haired boy states blandly “I did pull you out of the Velvet Room after all.”  
  
So it was him.  
  
Akira sighs and shakes his head “At least give me a name,” he asks “Or buy me a drink.”  
  
The smallest sliver of an amused smirk crosses the blue haired boys’ face before he shrugs and decides that’s a reasonable request “White wine or red?” he asks “I can treat my dates well.”  
  
Akira shoots him a look and the boy laughs.  
  
“It’s Minato,” he finally says “Arisato Minato. Though that hardly makes a difference to you and your circumstances.”  
  
Akira feels his head hurt but not because of Minato. It’s because he’s never encountered a Metaverse like this and technically, he’s still asleep in Akechi’s apartment. He suspects he’s never going to have a blissful sleep ever again.  
  
“Igor doesn’t know I’m here,” Minato explains before Akira can bother to ask “I called you out of the Velvet Room because I have some new information I think you should know.”  
  
Akira nods and Minato continues “This group that is coming after you is also coming after others. Whilst they are aware of your presence, they have also been tracking down the others and making them…” he pauses, trying to find a delicate way to phrase it “...disappear.”  
  
Akira frowns. The last time he disappeared was because the Metaverse had come into the real world and nobody believed in the Phantom Thieves anymore.  
  
“There is a force, more malevolent and powerful than you can imagine,” Minato explains “Not only did it bring back the Metaverse, but it is also eradicating every single persona user it finds. There were two generations of persona users before me and they are long gone now. My own friends have already been located and eliminated,” he pauses, a look of slight regret passing over his face before he settles it back into its usual blandness “There is one generation after me who are in trouble as we speak and your generation is next. My advice would be to keep a very close eye on all of your friends.”  
  
Akira winces but he already had a feeling that was the case. That was why he hadn’t left Ryuji alone without Morgana and it was why he felt uneasy, even with the others back in Tokyo. He should probably arrange something for Ishida as well - just in case.  
  
“Is what brought the Metaverse back linked to the fake Phantom Thieves?” he asks despite already suspecting the answer.  
  
“The fake Phantom Thieves are using the Metaverse,” Minato points out “However you will notice, their methods are crude and even idiotic. A clear shooting in broad daylight is beyond risky, which means they either have full confidence they will not be caught, or they haven’t thought about it. They have Personas and they must be aware that killing the ruler of the Palace will lead to a breakdown and death, yet they choose to kill their targets in the real world.”  
  
It tells Akira one of two things. Either these fake Phantom Thieves are aligned with the being that brought back the Metaverse and are under the full understanding that they will not be caught no matter what they do or they are complete amateurs. Given everything he’s seen and everything he knows about them now, he’s actually not sure which one it is.  
  
Minato picks at his shirt “From my understanding, the real target of this being is the persona users. If all of them are eliminated, he wins. So keep an eye on your friends, make sure they are never alone until you find out what’s coming after them.”  
  
Akira quickly runs through his head the people he needs to watch out for. Makoto and Haru are both in university and whilst Haru is almost always being watched, Makoto isn’t. Ann is alone in school and so is Yusuke. Ryuji has him, Akechi and Morgana. So does Ishida. Then there’s Futaba and it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she can be caught without Sojiro.  
  
But even if they are with someone, they don’t know what’s coming after them. It may not make a difference.  
  
“If you were me,” Akira begins quietly “What would you do?”  
  
Minato raises an eyebrow at him “If I were you, I’d five centimeters taller,” he points out “But in your position, I’d be evaluating who I know I can trust and who I’m not sure about. Remember what I said, they know you’re here and you’re already in their trap. This isn’t something you’re going to be able to run away from. This is a game of cat and mouse and at this point, they’re winning. This week in particular will be immensely difficult, not only for you but for other members of your group. The other team are making their move and they’re ready for you.”  
  
That isn’t encouraging at all but Akira supposes Minato is probably correct. It certainly feels like he just stepped onto a game of chess halfway through and he’d stepped on the losing side before he even realised it.  
  
He wonders what Hifumi would advise him to do.  
  
The train makes a noise and Akira looks up, he can see a light approaching. Minato notices it too and lifts his headphones up so they’re covering his ears again. He takes the same gun from his pocket and brings it up to his own head, pointing the barrel straight at his temple.  
  
“Be careful, Kurusu,” Minato warns as his finger calmly rests on the trigger “You’re the last leader alive.”  
  
The bang wakes Akira up, not in the Velvet Room but in the cold, hard grips of reality. He sits up in bed and gasps for breath, his mind catching up slowly to where he is and what he’s doing here. He recognises Akechi’s curtains and glances over to see the boy is still curled into him, fast asleep.  
  
It’s a strange thing to think but he’s probably still in the Velvet Room.  
  
Akira rubs at his head and gently leans back down to lie on his back. At his side, Akechi makes a small noise in his sleep but he doesn’t wake. Akira stares up at the ceiling, Minato’s words running through his mind over and over again. The last leader. The hell does that even mean? Was Minato one of those leaders? Why are there generations of persona users and how did he not know about them?  
  
Akechi mumbles something in his sleep and Akira glances at him. He can’t help the small warmth that blossoms in his chest at the sight of the brown haired boy. The sight also causes a fresh and unfamiliar bout of nerves and overthinking he hasn’t done since the last time he met Akechi.  
  
The boy is responsible for more than one confusing feeling.  
  
He hears his phone buzz nearby and leans over Akechi to fish his phone out of his jacket pocket on the floor. Akechi makes another sleepy noise as Akira rolls onto his back and looks at the message from Futaba.  
  
**Futaba:** Got some news for you. Are you awake?  
  
**Akira:** No.  
  
**Futaba:** Good. Anyway. I’ve got something. Been scouring security footage and forums and I might have found a lead by the name of Jax.  
  
Akira frowns, that sounds foreign.  
  
**Futaba:** He’s a hacker and when I started probing into the security footage of the school before you got there, he came out and attacked. There’s something there he doesn’t want me to see.  
  
**Akira:** Jax is Japanese?  
  
**Futaba:** Not the point. The point is the server he uses was not only in your town but it was in your school. Unless this hacker is squatting at the school, it’s highly likely that Jax is a student at Shinsou Academy and the fact that he’s stopping me from looking into the security cameras means he has a vested interest in me not seeing something. He could be connected to the fake Phantom Thieves.  
  
**Akira:** What stops him from being a teacher?  
  
**Futaba:** The server name. Teachers and students don’t generally share the same server. He was using the student one. He could be a teacher, but I find that unlikely.  
  
**Akira:** Okay, so we’re looking for a hacker.  
  
**Futaba:** Don’t say that like it’s so easy! You’re way out of your league if it’s a hacker you’re dealing with and I can’t do much from Tokyo. I’m coming to you.  
  
**Akira:** Please don’t. Stay in Tokyo.  
  
**Futaba:** Too late. I’ve already sold Sojiro on it. If we’re gonna pin these bastards down, we’re gonna have to play dirty. I’m enrolling in Shinsou Academy and Sojiro is coming with me.  
  
**Akira:** …  
  
**Futaba:** Just you wait you fake bastards. Don’t underestimate Alibaba! I’ll gut you for all you’re worth!  >:D  
  
Akira puts his phone down and glances at the sleeping boy next to him. He’s going to have to find some clever way to manage this. But it’s a start. A hacker named Jax.  
  
How hard can it be to find a hacker in their school?  
  
* * *  
  
Shiho wakes to the familiar feeling of a light, floating sensation. Like she’s halfway between a dream and reality. She sits up and groans when a sharp pain shoots right through her body, making her weak and dizzy at the same time.  
  
A hand steadies her shoulder and she looks up to see Yu. He’s still there and they’re still in this horrible Metaverse world.  
  
“Easy,” Yu advises, one steady hand behind her back as he helps her sit up “Waking to a Persona is never an easy thing and your body clearly wasn’t ready for it.”  
  
Persona? Shiho frowns and Yu can’t seem to help the small grin that crosses over his face.  
  
“You experienced an awakening of sorts last night,” he explains gently “That massive ball of power and energy that shot out of you? That was your Persona.”  
  
Right. That thing. Shiho didn’t have a name for it.  
  
Yu sits on the end of her bed and Shiho can’t help but notice the continuing ruin just outside her bedroom window. It can’t be real and yet it is, she even knows her own bedroom here is distorted and she doesn’t understand. Yu tried explaining it but it came right down to a world of cognition - which made no sense but she was trying to understand it.  
  
“Still, this is odd,” Yu says, his eyebrows fixed in thought “From what I already know, a Persona user shouldn’t just collapse the way you did. Their bodies should be able to withstand such a violent awakening...unless…” he trails off and looks over Shiho.  
  
Shiho blinks “...what?”  
  
Yu studies her for a couple more minutes and shakes his head. He turns back to looking at the wall whilst he thinks “It might be nothing and I could be wrong but I think we should spend just a little longer in this world to train you. If I let you return to the real world in the state you’re in, you’re not going to last.”  
  
That’s not encouraging at all and Shiho has no idea what awaits her in the ‘real world’ but so far all Yu has done for her is help. She has no reason to doubt his words.  
  
Yu’s eyebrows knot again in deep thought and he’s silent for a moment. Shiho takes the time to look out the window and it looks like true hell out there. Red skies, skeletons flying around, blood-vessel like vines shooting from the ground. She can feel the heat and humidity pouring from the window and the sounds of the birds are not helping.  
  
It can’t be a dream. She’s not screwed up enough to think up something like this.  
  
“A Persona is the manifestation of rebellion,” Yu mutters though Shiho can’t tell if he’s talking to himself or to her “It grows from a dissatisfaction with life as it is and a true willpower to change what has been wronged. But if the body is not ready for the rebellion, then that means…” he frowns to himself and glances at Shiho again.  
  
Finally, he gets up and sighs “I’ll find you some food,” he promises “Then we’re going to train again. At the very least, you should know how to take down a Jack Frost without damage to yourself. Wait here.”  
  
He heads out and when he’s gone, Shiho looks out the window again. Hell on earth. Metaverse. Personas. No, it’s way to elaborate to be a dream or a nightmare.  
  
But the alternative is just as chilling and she wonders why she’s even here to begin with.  
  
* * *  
  
Akechi and Akira are in the cafe first. The detective watches Akira brooding over a coffee and frowns “Seriously, where did you go? You just disappeared from the Velvet Room and no one would tell me anything.”  
  
Akira pauses. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Akechi, he does, but he had trouble telling his friends about Igor last year and although Akechi is likely to believe him about the blue haired boy named Minato, he’d be much more critical about what this is and where it’s coming from.  
  
In all honesty, the whole thing is making Akira’s head hurt.  
  
Ryuji looks well past wrecked when he heads into the cafe and dumps his bag in the empty spot next to him. He buries his face in his hands as Morgana pops out of the bag and gasps for air.  
  
“Clean your gym clothes!” Morgana snaps at him. The cat climbs out of his bag and skitters under the table to join Akira “Honestly, it’s bad enough you kept me up all night!”  
  
Morgana snuggles into Akira’s open bag and Akechi raises an eyebrow at Ryuji “You were up all night?”  
  
“Don’t ask,” Ryuji begs, his voice muffled behind his hands “Just don’t ask.”  
  
Ishida wanders into the cafe next and sits next to Ryuji. He takes one look at his miserable form and pats his back hesitantly “Are you alright?”  
  
Ryuji makes a pitiful noise behind his hands and shakes his head. Akira catches the way Akechi smirks in thinly veiled amusement.  
  
“Futaba is coming to Shinsou Academy,” Akira breaks the news first and it gets Ryuji out of his hands at least. The blonde looks surprised and Akira continues “She’s found a hacker by the name of Jax who supposedly attends our school. He may be connected to the fake Phantom Thieves.”  
  
“Go Futaba,” Ryuji breathes, very impressed.  
  
Akira tries not to feel uncomfortable about both Sojiro and Futaba being in this town - where it’s dangerous - but he can’t help it. They’re like his family and now they’re going to be here, in the heat of it all.  
  
He’d rather they stayed away where it’s safe but he knows it’s not realistic to ask that of either of them. When it comes right down to it, they’re both stubborn and neither are going to listen when they know Akira’s in danger. Which he is.  
  
Akechi leans forward “Ishida, do you know of any hackers in the school?”  
  
Ishida shakes his head “I know of the IT club, maybe that’s a good place to start?” he suggests with a shrug.  
  
“It’s a start,” Akechi hums but the well oiled cogs in his head are already spinning at full speed.  
  
Akira knows why. If what Futaba is saying is true, then that narrows their suspects down considerably. She could be off and she could be wrong but Akira can’t think of many instances where that has happened. It means they’re definitely looking in the school for their culprit and that makes him feel a little easier about it at least.  
  
Morgana pokes his head out of Akira’s bag and hums “Still, we already know this town is the most dangerous place to be right now. Sojiro and Futaba here? That worries me.”  
  
He says exactly what Akira is thinking and Akechi catches the way Akira seems just a little disturbed. He doesn’t say anything about it and instead turns to the others.  
  
“We should get going,” he says “For now all we can really do is keep our heads down and try not to get caught alone. Let’s stick together until we know what’s going on.”  
  
Ishida relaxes a little “I like that idea.”  
  
“Yeah,” Ryuji sighs “Sure, that works.”  
  
They get up and Akira follows behind. Morgana watches him from his bag but Akira’s mind is far away. He can still hear Minato in his head.  
  
This week in particular will be immensely difficult, not only for you but for other members of your group.  
  
They come out of the cafe and Akechi falls into step with him. He nudges his arm “Akira, are you alright?” he asks quietly.  
  
Akira glances at the school building and frowns. He pulls his bag up higher on his shoulder and nods to Akechi “I’ll be fine.”  
  
He doesn’t know if he’s lying or not.  
  
* * *  
  
Opening his eyes, Yusuke stares at the blank canvas in front of him. All around the art room, he can hear the other students scratching and scribbling away at their art. The sound of brush against the surface, chalk or pencil etching ideas and concepts into life but Yusuke’s remains blank.  
  
He can feel the concerned and confused stares of the other students and for once he can’t really blame them. His canvas has been blank for a while now.  
  
“Kitagawa-kun,” his teacher sighs as he comes up to Yusuke’s side “Is something going on? Not to rush a talented artist such as yourself, but this is unusual.”  
  
Yusuke taps the dry brush against his lips in thought and shakes his head “Believe me. Nobody is more surprised or confused than me.”  
  
His teacher is watching him but Yusuke doesn’t take his eyes off the canvas. He remembers once telling Akira that he had this urge to draw on something if it was blank and whilst he feels that urge now, he doesn’t know where to begin. What to draw. It’s like a well of ideas and he has no access to it and it’s extremely frustrating.  
  
“Perhaps some air would help,” his teacher hesitantly suggests “You’ve been in this room ever since you got back, Kitagawa-kun, and even before then, you were in here. Art needs air and life in order to breathe.”  
  
Yusuke doesn’t answer. He’s busy staring at the blank canvas and wondering why his ideas remain swirling around in his head but not one of them wishes to come out onto the paper. He’s been here before. Not long after he found out what Madarame was, he moved out and found himself in a new environment. But the sudden shift in circumstances had stunted his ideas for awhile and it was only through Akira’s help that he was able to find his muse again.  
  
Now it was gone, again, and he didn’t have Akira to lean on anymore. He doesn’t have Ryuji either. He has Ann and it’s not a bad idea to ask her for help - considering it was her that had started this whole thing. Had Yusuke never seen her and gotten the urge to follow her, he might still be in Madarame’s clutches. They might not have found out about him until it was too late.  
  
Ann was the one he’d seen first. She was the one he’d followed and it was lucky he had.  
  
Maybe, just maybe, Ann can help him now.  
  
He pulls his phone out and sends a message to Ann asking to meet and puts his phone back in his pocket. He stares back at the blank canvas and hums to himself. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he has a vague idea of what might have caused this sudden dry spell of ideas but he just doesn’t know how to fix it.  
  
With some luck, seeing Ann will fix whatever’s gone wrong and he can stop dreaming about Sakamoto Ryuji.  
  
The problem is that he  doesn’t even know when he started this. It snuck up on him, like most things do, and took him completely by surprise. Suddenly, the uncouth blonde was all he could think about, all he could dream about. He’d denied it at first, to himself, but when it became kind of obvious that Ryuji was there to stay, Yusuke gradually began to accept that the boy was worth loving.  
  
Sure, he was harsh, rash and often said things LONG before he could think them through. But he had a heart of gold and there was no way Yusuke had not noticed that hidden gem about his friend.  
  
The other students are still staring. Confused and worried for him but Yusuke pays them no heed. If this is what love does to him, then perhaps he can use it somehow.  
  
Singers and writers talk about one sided love all the time. Perhaps in art, it can be used to create something heartbreaking and beautiful. Perhaps even, it could provide a catharsis and the key to move on and love someone else.  
  
Though even as he thought it, it seemed impossible.  
  
For nobody was better or more deserving of his love than Sakamoto Ryuji. That was just what made it all the more painful.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryuji starts losing it around third period. Akira can see his concentration fizzling out as his head gets closer and closer to the desk.  
  
“He’s hopeless,” Morgana grumbles from where he’s trying to get in a comfortable position within Akira’s desk “Keeping me up all night with his moaning and nightmares.”  
  
Akira’s trying to concentrate on the lesson - lest he get hit with a chalk to the head - but he can’t help but notice that Ryuji’s characteristic listlessness in class seems just a little bit more intense than usual. Like he really didn’t get any sleep and this isn’t just a natural attitude towards learning or anything that involves actual brain power.  
  
He shoots Morgana a questioning look and the cat huffs.  
  
“Don’t ask. I don’t know what it was about. He kept moving around and moaning and then when he woke up, he spent an hour in the bathroom. All that shuffling around and I barely got any sleep either.”  
  
Morgana curls up and grumbles to himself “Your desk is so tiny too...why do you insist on me staying with Ryuji?”  
  
Akira thinks that Morgana might find it a little awkward if he were to find out that Akira really can’t seem to sleep without Akechi around but he’s in the middle of class and he doesn’t want to have to explain that to a cat right now. He’s busy trying to figure it out himself.  
  
It’s near the end of third period that he hears a familiar shout of students just down the hall. Everyone in class looks up, a momentary confusion washing over them all as they wonder why there are students in the hall when it isn’t even break time yet.  
  
“Get back to your seats!” the teacher demands as more students get up and head out to the hallway “All students get back to your seats!”  
  
Akira looks up. This is a hauntingly familiar scenery and he hopes to god it’s not what he thinks it is. Outside the classroom, the students are crowding around the window, they’re looking at something out in the courtyard and there’s so much chatter, he can barely tell one voice apart from the other.  
  
It’s not until Akira hears someone scream ‘he’s jumping!’ that he gets up from his desk and heads out into the hallway with Ryuji, Ishida and Akechi close behind him. They push their way to the window and look out over at the other building, watching as a student on the balcony of the science block is standing right at the edge, staring down at a five story drop.  
  
The teachers are panicking, the students are panicking and this all feels too familiar.  
  
The student is shaking. He’s average height with dark brown hair and quite unnoticable features but he’s not who Akira notices. Whilst everyone else is staring at the student on the edge, what Akira notices is the hooded figure hidden just out of view in the room behind the balcony. Akira reaches for Akechi and grabs his wrist, directing his attention to the figure as well.  
  
“Dude, he’s gonna…” Ryuji pales “Someone call an ambulance! Someone get over there!”  
  
Ryuji doesn’t notice the figure. Ishida doesn’t notice it either. Akechi taps Akira’s back and starts sprinting down the hall with Akira running close behind him. The Science block is literally in the next building, just through the practice rooms. The two of them run down a flight of stairs, push past a bunch of students in the practice room and the closer they get, the more panicked people are.  
  
They just get through the practice room when they hear the screams of the students. Akira glances out the window and he sees the body falling, hears something hit the ground with a sickening crack. “Stairs!” Akechi hisses, dragging Akira up another flight of stairs.  
  
They’re close now. They’re nearly there. Whoever that was standing near the balcony was obviously not there to help. The two of them jump up the stairs, two at a time and burst into the science room where the balcony was.  
  
But nobody is there. Only an empty science room, open doors to the balcony and a note pinned to the side of the door with the blue Phantom Thieves card pinned on top. Akira looks around as Akechi reaches the note and pulls it off the door.  
  
“Agawa Taro. The countdown has begun. Your move, Joker. Signed Loki of the Phantom Thieves,” Akechi reads grimly. He hands the note to Akira and glances down at the mess in the courtyard but dares not head out onto the balcony. Getting caught out here wouldn’t end well for either of them.  
  
Akira looks over the note and frowns. Loki was the one they’d encountered before. The one who’d been waiting for them in the palace. He turns the note over but it’s blank on the other side and the blue calling card simply contains the stolen logo of the Phantom Thieves.  
  
“Countdown,” Akira mutters and he has a bad feeling about this. That Loki is using the students to make him come out of hiding.  
  
“Agawa,” Akechi frowns and thinks it through. He shakes his head and reaches over to take Akira’s hand “We have to get out of here. If someone finds us up here, we’ll be implicated in this.”  
  
Akira wants to know what happened to Agawa. He wants to look down and see if he lived but he heard the crack, he heard the screaming and he can hear the distant ambulance coming towards the school. It’s five floors down from this height. If Agawa survived it would be nothing short of a miracle.  
  
Akechi’s warm hand closes over Akira’s and he pulls “Come on,” he says, gentler this time as he leads Akira back down the stairs.  
  
It takes the school one hour to calm everyone down. The ambulance takes Agawa away and there’s blood all over the courtyard. Once Akira and Akechi get down there, the teachers are already trying to usher everyone back into class - in the hopes that anyone will concentrate on anything after what they’d just seen.  
  
Akira sees the pool of blood on the concrete ground as he meets up with Ryuji and Ishida near the courtyard just as the teachers are trying to push everyone back inside.  
  
“Dude, he’s gone,” Ryuji tells him. His face is dark with thinly veiled anger and confusion. Ishida is just pale and shaking and it doesn’t slip Akira’s notice that Ryuji is letting Ishida cling to him for some sort of comfort.  
  
“By the time the ambulance got here, he was already…” Ryuji stops there. He clears his throat and nods to the two of them “Where did you go?”  
  
“We saw someone behind him,” Akechi explains and hands Ryuji the note and calling card “I suspect he was pushed. Or threatened with something if he didn’t jump.  
  
Ryuji and Ishida read over the note, Akira watches Ryuji’s rage bubble under the surface as he gives the note back “What countdown?”  
  
Akira can’t answer that. He’s just as confused. He has a hunch and he hopes he’s wrong.  
  
“I think Agawa was one,” Akechi voices Akira’s own suspicions “If there’s another one tomorrow, that’s two.”  
  
“Wait,” Ryuji pales “He’s using the students here to push Joker out?!”  
  
Each day that Akira remains hidden is another day that Loki will make a student jump or coerce them into something else. It’s a chilling thought.  
  
“We should go somewhere less crowded,” Ishida suggests, suddenly noticing the student body slowly going back to class.  
  
Akechi notices it too and nods “Come on then,” he mutters and starts leading them back to class “Loki is most likely watching the student body for any clues that Joker is around. We should, for now, act normal.”  
  
Akira hides the note and calling card in his pocket. He looks around but everywhere he looks, students are chatting to each other, most of them are traumatised and the teachers don’t seem to know how to deal with this or what to do.  
  
“Has anyone seen Suzui?” Ryuji asks and it’s about then that Akira realises he hasn’t seen her for two days now.  
  
He hopes wherever she is, it has absolutely nothing to do with what’s going on here.  
  
-  
  
Falling to her knees again, Shiho pants as Jack Frost bounces in front of her. She shakes her head. She’s exhausted, she’s been pulling all her power out just as Yu told her to do and still the damn thing is jumping up and down in front of her. Knocking her down with spells that Yu says shouldn’t even hurt flies.  
  
Evidently, she’s weaker than a fly.  
  
“Shiho,” Yu sighs from where he sits nearby “You’re holding back again.”  
  
“I am not,” Shiho grunts and tries to stand up again. Her legs are shaking and she’s so tired, she’s so physically beaten and if Jack Frost really is supposed to be this weak, then she’s weaker. Maybe she really isn’t supposed to be here.  
  
“A persona-”  
  
“Is brought out by rebellion and force of will, you told me,” Shiho snaps at him. She immediately regrets it and bows in apology “I’m sorry. I’m tired.”  
  
Yu jumps down and just like he did before, one simple lift of his hand whacks Jack Frost out of existence as if the annoying creature had never been there to begin with. The man leans over Shiho and helps her stand properly.  
  
“You need to face this,” he tells her “Something is holding you back. Something is keeping you from facing reality.”  
  
Shiho is just so tired. This Metaverse shit is ridiculous, she just wants a world that doesn’t have strange organic spikes growing out of the concrete or red skies with things flying around. She wants her room, she wants her world and she wants her mother.  
  
None of this makes any sense.  
  
Yu leans down and picks her up. Shiho leans into his chest, limp and unable to walk as he carries her back inside, away from the shadows that seem eager to knock her down but not quite as eager to take on Yu. Whatever this guy is, the shadows seem kind of afraid of him.  
  
Yu carries her back inside and Shiho closes her eyes. There’s a nice and comforting scent coming off Yu, it makes her heart stutter just a little. She wonders how long he’s been here, obviously it’s longer than her. It’s almost as if whatever this world does, it’s not likely to faze him. He’s just so...annoyingly calm.  
  
She knows someone else like that as well.  
  
Yu places her down on the bed and kneels down in front of her. His eyes glance down and when he notices the scar on her leg, he frowns. Shiho moves to cover it with her hand but he’s already seen it.  
  
“What’s that from?” he asks, eyes filled with concern and not just curiosity.  
  
“Nothing,” Shiho lies. She pulls her legs up onto the bed as well and tries to curl up but Yu doesn’t let her. He gets up and sits on the bed as well, his hand coming out to stop her before she curls her leg away from him. He places his hand on her knee. There’s nothing possessive or even harmful in his touch and it’s the only reason why Shiho doesn’t slap him off with an old instinct to protect herself.  
  
“Suzui,” Yu speaks in a somehow comforting tone “Whatever happened to you, it’s stopping you from releasing your true potential. You have a persona but it’s not fully awake yet. You’re not truly facing whatever this is.”  
  
“And what is this?” Shiho frowns “I just wanna go home. I want to sleep. I want to wake up in a world that isn’t...isn’t…” she looks out the window and it’s insane what she sees. The sky isn’t supposed to be red and white. She’s not supposed to see flying pterodactyls and spikes. She’s not supposed to feel like the sky could rain fire at any point. This is not normal. None of it is.  
  
She doesn’t like the way Yu looks at her. Like he can see right through her. Like he can read her mind and pick out what’s wrong here with or without her permission. She shrinks back but his hand on her knee is warm and firm.  
  
“Someone hurt you,” he says and it’s a statement of fact, not a question.  
  
Shiho shrinks. Someone did hurt her. Several someones have hurt her but one in particular was the cause of the scar on her leg. She looks down and Yu nods, his suspicions confirmed “And you haven’t faced it yet.”  
  
No. That’s not right. Shiho looks up and frowns “I have,” she snapped “I spent months in rehabilitation. Months thinking about what happened, what put me up on that ledge.”  
  
“And you still haven’t faced it,” Yu tells her “That’s what’s stopping you-”  
  
“I’ve faced it!” Shiho yells at him, irritated and almost defensive for a matter she thought she’d put behind her “He…” she halts, her breath catching in her throat and eyes burning, stinging with unshed tears. She looks down “He hurt me,” she hisses through gritted teeth. She looks at her hands, curled in fists on her lap and she shakes her head “He hurt me. But I hurt myself on that ledge. I let him control me but I faced it.”  
  
“You put it behind you,” Yu explains “But what about him?”  
  
Shiho doesn’t want to open this again. She doesn’t want to think about what put her up on that ledge but in her mind already, she can hear her own screams. Her whimpers and cries as she crashed around that office, begging him to stop. Stop it, just stop touching her. Stop hurting her. It was at that time that she was sure nobody would come for her. Nobody could hear her.  
  
Nobody was coming to stop him from touching her. Stop his hand as he raked down her skin, leaving marks as he went, touching places she cried and screamed and begged for him to stop.  
  
She shakes her head and Yu leans in. Shiho normally wouldn’t want anyone near her. Not now. Not when the slightest touch reminds her how Kamoshida hurt her but Yu isn’t like him. His scent is different, he’s warm and Shiho finds herself leaning into him slightly as he comes in closer but not too close.  
  
He seems to have sensed what went wrong.  
  
Shiho shakes her head “I can’t…if I don’t put it behind me, I’ll never move on. That’s what they told me, I can’t linger in the past, I can’t think about this-”  
  
“None of them were hurt like you were,” Yu reminds her gently “You can’t let anyone tell you how you’re supposed to react to this. Only you can do that. But putting him behind you and moving on is not working is it?”  
  
It isn’t. He still comes back, haunts her in her worst nightmares. Makes her feel like she’s back in that office.  
  
Shiho thinks about Ann. Ann who got angry at Kamoshida. It was that kind of anger that Shiho just didn’t have in her at the time. What was the point of getting angry now? What he did was one year old now and he’s gone. He’s behind bars and it’s too late.  
  
Yu takes her hand and Shiho jumps in surprise. Her eyes fly open and she watches as he laces his fingers between hers. He leans in a little closer and pushes her knees down so she’s not curled up anymore.  
  
“Close your eyes,” he says and she complies. She feels his arm sliding slowly around her waist and gasps. It’s warm but her body reacts, jumping and moving immediately to pull away. That’s when Yu’s grip gets stronger and he pulls her easily towards himself.  
  
“Go back there,” he tells her “Put yourself back in that room.”  
  
“I can’t-” Shiho struggles but Yu isn’t letting her go now. The only thing that stops her from going into full on panic is his scent. She knows it’s him.  
  
“You can,” Yu tells her “Go back there. Keep your eyes closed and go back there.”  
  
She doesn’t want to but returning to that place is easier than she realises. With her eyes closed and Yu’s arm around her, restraining her, she hears her screaming. She can see it. The locked door, the papers and assignments scattered to the floor after she’d been knocked into the desk. She can see Kamoshida above her, holding her down, telling her this is all Ann’s fault. If Ann had just agreed to become his, he wouldn’t have been forced to do this to Shiho.  
  
Everything is so hot. He’s too close and his breath is all over her face. Hot lips trace down her neck and all she wants is to run, to push him off and run. But he’s too big, he’s too strong and his hand, large and calloused, is pushing her skirt up, trailing up her thigh.  
  
No. Oh God no not again. Shiho squeezes her eyes shut and Yu’s scent envelops her, calming her senses.  
  
“Fight back,” Yu whispers in her ear “He’s not going to hurt you. Not anymore.”  
  
He’s right. Kamoshida can’t hurt her. She opens her eyes and he’s leaning over her. He’s telling her over and over again that this is Ann’s fault. That Ann made him do this. That girls like Ann and Shiho have to do whatever he tells them to do because he’s in charge but he’s wrong. He’s always been wrong.  
  
She feels it. Quiet at first but when his hand slides further up her leg, when his tongue hits her skin, she feels it. Anger. True, outraged anger bubbling out of her like a volcano.  
  
This motherfucking asshole has absolutely no right to touch her.  
  
It bursts from her, a burst of bright blue light rising from her chest and lifting all her anxiety, all her fear. She pushes Kamoshida off and as reality sets in her, she watches as her hands push Yu off and send him flying to the other side of the room. Shiho is panting, furious and angry but there’s something behind her. An enormous, glowing and magnificent woman with long hair, blue butterfly wings and a long, trailing blue dress.  
  
It’s her Persona. Her true Persona.  
  
Her clothes change as well and she feels the power flowing through her like nothing she’s ever felt before. This time, she isn’t going to fall unconscious. This time, she has a very firm grip on her power and what it’s going to do for her.  
  
“Good,” Yu holds up a thumbs up from where he’s lying on the other side of the room.  
  
Shiho’s eyes widen and she jumps off the bed. She rushes over to help him up as her shadow sinks back into her but her trickster clothes remain on her.  
  
“I’m sorry,” she breathes.  
  
“I’m not,” Yu chuckles, he dusts himself down and looks over her “That was awesome.”  
  
Shiho blushes and looks out the window “Should I practice on a Jack Frost or…?”  
  
“No need,” Yu shakes his head and brushes the last of the dust from his clothes “Besides, at your current power, you’d torture the poor thing. I think you’re ready.”  
  
Ready? Does that mean she can go back home?  
  
Shiho watches him and frowns “If I leave...what’ll happen to you?”  
  
Yu looks surprised for a moment. As if he really hadn’t expected her to ask him that and he clears his throat “Well,” he starts slowly “I…”  
  
“Come with me,” Shiho offers “My phone has that app. It should take me home right? Come with me.”  
  
She doesn’t feel alright at all with leaving him in this world. Sure, he looks like he can take care of himself but still, he doesn’t belong here and that’s obvious.  
  
Yu shakes his head “I can’t,” he tells her solemnly “I can’t leave.”  
  
Shiho frowns and Yu picks up her phone from where it’s sitting on the end of her bed. He hands it to her and steps back “Whatever happens now, you have to face it head on. If you’re here, that means something is about to happen. You’re needed.”  
  
She doesn’t understand. He’s not making any sense again and she grabs his wrist.  
  
“Come with me,” she begs “Please, I can’t leave you here, I can’t-”  
  
The sky outside grows dark and Yu turns around to look. Both of them watch as the sky turns a dark red, ominous black clouds floating slowly into view as lightning starts sparking up ahead and the creatures below begin to get more and more restless.  
  
Whatever is happening, Yu seems to be well aware of it as he pushes Shiho gently away from the window and pushes the phone into her hands.  
  
“Go,” he tells her “Before they find you here.”  
  
“They?” Shiho frowns in confusion “Narukami-”  
  
Whatever is going on, Yu doesn’t look like he’s going to talk about it and instead turns to face her “Your awakening must have alerted them. Which is good, it means you’re a threat to them after all. But you need to go. Now. They can’t find you here.”  
  
“Come with me!” Shiho begs and there are tears in her eyes. Yu has been nothing but patient, he’s helped her, he’s taken care of her, he’s turned her towards her fears and forced her to face them head on. She can’t leave him here. Narukami Yu with his comforting scent, with his warm touch and eyes that read her like an open book. She can’t leave him here.  
  
Yu pushes the app on her phone. She hears a voice telling her it’ll take her back and the world distorts and twists. She feels something being pushed into her hand and watches helplessly as Yu turns around and jumps out of the open window to face whatever came looking for her.  
  
Everything goes black and when Shiho hits the real world, she feels reality pressing down on her like gravity. She sits up and looks around. She’s in her own room, the world outside is back to normal. The sky is blue, there are people outside and she can hear them talking. Her clothes too are back to normal.  
  
But Yu is gone.  
  
Shiho feels the paper in her hand and looks down. She pushes herself gingerly into a sitting position and folds open the paper he’d left.  
  
_‘Tell Kurusu I’m sorry. I tried. - Yu’_  
  
He’s gone. He’s really gone. Shiho taps at the app but it won’t let her go back to that place. The nav instead tells her it’s gone.  
  
It takes Shiho a moment to realise and think over everything that just happened. A man named Narukami Yu had found her, nursed her to health, trained her, forced her to face her fears and awaken to her persona within two days. Then when ‘they’ had come looking, he’d pushed her out ahead of himself and saved her.  
  
Now all that was left of him was a note and the lingering, faint scent of him on her clothes.  
  
Kurusu. As in Kurusu Akira? Shiho guesses she should have known but it still surprises her. She thinks about the last thing she’d seen, Yu rushing out of the window to deal with whatever had come for them. She feels something hurt at the thought of him in danger and wishes he’d just come with her. She doesn’t understand, none of this makes sense but she needs to find Kurusu and explain all of this.  
  
Or make him explain it to her because she still can’t understand what happened. All she knows is that Yu saved her from something. That something felt dangerous and as capable as she knows Yu is, she feels a great sense of unease about leaving him there.  
  
She can’t even be sure he survived and that’s what scares her most of all.  
  
-  
  
Unsurprisingly, the school eventually lets the students out early. Akira, Akechi, Morgana, Ishida and Ryuji sit at their normal diner, taking up the booth at the back with their drinks untouched.  
  
In Akira’s bag, Morgana’s tail flicks every now and then but even the cat is lost in thought. Akechi’s mind is still whirring as he flicks the calling card between his fingers. Ryuji is withdrawn, Ishida is pale and Akira can’t stop thinking about the figure he’d seen.  
  
Either the boy was pushed or he would meet an even worse fate if he didn’t jump. Someone had been standing, just barely out of sight, behind him and whoever that person was, they were watching. It was likely the figure was Loki but Akira couldn’t tell anything right now.  
  
Finally Ryuji thinks to ask the crucial question.  
  
“How many people are we dealing with here?” he asks, turning his eyes specifically to Akechi for the answer.  
  
Akechi flicks the calling card between his fingers and eyes the blue design of the Phantom Thieves logo thoughtfully “Hard to tell,” he hums “So far, we’ve only really met one. But I highly doubt this is the work of one individual.”  
  
“At least two,” Akira adds, thinking about the hacker that Futaba had been talking about earlier.  
  
Akechi puts the card away and huffs tiredly “Possibly more than that. It’s a tough call. What we do know so far is that there is possibly a hacker in their team and that Loki probably doesn’t know who we are yet. Given the fact that someone shot Minagawa and whoever it was, was being harrassed by him beforehand, it’s safe to say that the person who killed Minagawa is not only male but also…” he glances warily at Ishida and for a moment, it looks like he’s trying to word this delicately “...his type.”  
  
Ishida blinks confusedly and Akira looks at him too. Minagawa had been after boys like him. Small, delicate, petite. That means whoever killed him, fit that profile.  
  
“That isn’t a bad start,” Morgana pops up “How many boys like that are in the school? Whoever it was, was probably a student, right?”  
  
“Correct,” Akechi nods “I find it difficult to imagine a person who isn’t a student getting into this school so easily after the shooting of the principal. Someone would have noticed. Even if that is the case and the shooter is not a student at our school, that should be easy to see on security cameras.”  
  
Which will be a lot easier to access once Futaba is actually in the school. Akira still doesn’t like the idea of her being there but her skills do open up a variety of doors for them. There’s no doubt about that.  
  
“In any case, maybe we can start there,” Morgana suggests “Find the boys who match the profile and figure out where they were when the suicide happened.”  
  
It’s not bad. It’s a lead and it’s something to start with. Akira reaches for his drink and pauses when he hears the door of the diner open. Ryuji makes a small noise and Akira looks up to see Suzui Shiho walking towards their booth.  
  
She looks exhausted. Her hair is a mess, she’s wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a soft, pink sweater with sleeves longer than her own arms. She walks up to the table and looks at the four boys and the cat.  
  
“Suzui,” Ryuji finally speaks, more than a little surprised “Where the hell have you been?”  
  
Shiho turns her eyes to Akira and holds out the note to him, she sniffles and shakes her head “Help him.”  
  
* * *  
  
Beyond the long line of shops in Suidobashi, a flight of stairs leads to the beating heart of the area. Tokyo Dome is an enormous stadium, used for baseball games, concerts and much more. The entire area around it is open air, benches all around, restaurants and a shallow flight of stairs that leads to a bar just in front of the expensive hotel. Yusuke finds himself sitting on the steps, watching as Ann poses for the camera crew taking pictures of her in front of the dome.  
  
The theme is ‘baseball girl’, which Yusuke finds a little hilarious considering he doubts Ann would be any good with a baseball bat. But she seems quite at home with her outfit, which consists of a pair of white shorts and a striped baseball jacket with her name sewn at the back.  
  
They added jewellery and makeup of course but what Yusuke notices, as he watches her pose, is that Ann is quite at home in this area. There are people watching - as always - and commenting on everything but she seems to take everything in stride. She’s the center of attention and she owns it too.  
  
When the shoot is finally over, Ann bows and claps with the crew for a job well done. She changes back into her normal clothes and runs over to join Yusuke on the steps.  
  
“Sorry,” she says as she takes a seat next to him “That ran a little longer than I thought it would.”  
  
“It was interesting,” Yusuke admits with a small grin. He’d seen Ann model before, for him, but this was somewhat different. She just seemed to have an endless amount of poses for the camera, ready to change at their will.  
  
Ann’s smile lights her face as always but Yusuke can’t join her. Not when he’s still suffering from lack of sleep and unable to think properly as a result. There’s also the block he feels in his head, it’s stopping him from painting and it’s taken him this long to admit he needs help.  
  
“Let’s go somewhere else,” Ann suggests and she must have noticed the look on his face because she takes his arm gently and helps him up “I know a good place to talk.”  
  
That good place, ends up being in Shibuya. Ann takes him to a small cafe, tucked away just a little past Central Street and unnoticed by most. The old woman who runs it smiles at them both and seems to recognise Ann because she asks her about her parents. It’s a tiny place with about five tables and one other customer but it has a nice, safe atmosphere.  
  
Ann takes him to a small table near the bookshelves and sets her bag down “I come here to be alone sometimes” she tells him “The owner knows my parents.”  
  
Yusuke figured. He puts his bag down and glances at the books on the bookshelf but not a one is in Japanese. In fact it seems to hold books in every language but Japanese.  
  
They order some tea and Yusuke starts feeling a little uncomfortable. He’d called Ann out for a reason, he needed help, he needed to stop thinking about Sakamoto Ryuji, he needs to start painting again but it’s one thing to acknowledge what’s wrong, it’s quite another to actively ask for help. Even from someone like Ann, whom Yusuke knows will not judge him.  
  
“Yusuke,” Ann prompts, her long, graceful fingers closing around her cup and Yusuke looks there. He can’t look at her face, he just can’t.  
  
He trembles. Ryuji’s face appears in his mind and it’s not easy. Yusuke just wishes the blonde would leave him alone.  
  
“I…” he begins and his throat closes up. He coughs lightly and tries to clear it but it’s still there.  
  
Ann, sensing it’s serious, reaches over to touch his hand. Her touch, though warm and soft, still makes him jump a little - but not enough for her to pull her hand away.  
  
“Yusuke, whatever it is, if I can help…” she tries.  
  
“I...I can’t paint,” Yusuke admits and this is so hard. When he’d met Akira, one year ago, he’d told him he couldn’t paint after leaving Madarame. It was true, he’d had a dry spell. But there had been several causes and Akira had helped him patiently through them all.  
  
This time there really is only one cause and nobody can help him through this one.  
  
Ann’s hand squeezes his gently and she watches him “You can’t paint?”  
  
Yusuke shakes his head “Nothing is...I can’t think properly. I can’t paint and I don’t know why.”  
  
That’s a lie. He knows exactly why. The problem is he can’t talk to Ann about Ryuji. Not when he knows already there is something special between Ann and Ryuji. There always has been. It’s like a barrier nobody can touch but everyone knows is there.  
  
Even Yusuke has to admit to himself that Ann and Ryuji would be somewhat perfect together.  
  
“An artists block?” Ann asks “Maybe...maybe you just need to get out more. I mean you spend all your time in that art studio, maybe we should go do things. I know some really pretty places I could introduce you to.”  
  
She’s trying. That’s what he wanted. But this annoying voice in the back of his head keeps reminding him that the cause (and most likely the cure) has blonde hair and a rude mouth.  
  
She takes him out after they finish their drinks. Yusuke follows Ann down central street and stops when she finds a clothing store she’s been dying to go to. He watches the people milling around, some shopping, most on their phones and completely ignoring their surroundings.  
  
It’s strange when he really thinks about it. Just last year, this area had been under attack. Spikes and shards of the Metaverse had taken over their world, gods and monsters, mad with power and control, loomed over the skies with the promise to control the human race.  
  
In a flash of fire and a power no one could ever comprehend, the Phantom Thieves and finally Akira had struck him down and won the true freedom of the human race.  
  
But for what? Last Yusuke checked, not many believed in the Phantom Thieves. Those who did would often go on about the nostalgia, the excitement that last year had provided - as if the Phantom Thieves had been more entertainment, rather than the saviours they really were. They’d saved humanity, granted them true freedom and the reward for them had been the mere knowledge of what they’d done.  
  
Almost everyone else had forgotten (except Mishima, who loyally kept the site running despite lack of new interest in months).  
  
Ann picks out a bunch of clothes and disappears into the changing room for a moment. Yusuke hangs around outside the changing room, feeling a little like a creep until she comes out in a ridiculously bright blue dress that somehow manages to suit her where it wouldn’t suit most other girls.  
  
This is a quality of hers that gets her hated by other girls - even if she doesn’t often realise it.  
  
“What do you think?” she asks.  
  
Yusuke scans her critically and tilts his head “The colour is hideous,” he comments honestly “It does nothing for your complexion.”  
  
Ann gapes “It’s blue!”  
  
“It’s offensive to my eyes,” Yusuke states bluntly and Ann disappears into the changing room again.  
  
She goes through about three outfits before she finally gets mild approval from Yusuke in the form of a summer dress that really brings out her eyes and compliments her legs. Just as they reach the counter to pay, Ann grabs Yusuke’s arm and gasps.  
  
At first Yusuke thinks she forgot her wallet (in which case, she’s screwed because he never has any money) but when he notices her still frame, staring up at the ceiling, he realises she’s listening. He tunes in as well, turns his attention to the voice floating from the speakers and it’s a strangely familiar, masculine voice.  
  
“. _..everytime you’re near, you stir my heart again…”_ the voice sings and the melody, the sounds in the background mix in near-perfect harmony but he can’t remember where he’s heard this voice before.  
  
He turns to Ann “Singer you know?” he asks because maybe she’s played this near him and he just wasn’t paying attention. He can see that happening.  
  
But Ann shakes her head and glances at the door where there are promotional posters splashed on the glass. She pays for her clothes and takes Yusuke to the door but he recognises none of these singers. Not all of the posters are even advertising the singers, they’re also advertising mini tour dates, small venue concerts and albums released by barely recognisable artists.  
  
Finally Ann points to a small box of a poster that’s advertising at least twenty other artists. All their faces are squeezed in tiny boxes because they have to share an A4 sized paper but she keeps her attention on the one in the fourth row.  
  
The singer is young. Most likely their age. Strikingly turquoise eyes greet them underneath a shower of damp-looking, jet black curls with the subtlest hints of blue streaks. He’s kind of beautiful, in a near-androgynous way but Yusuke frowns. He also looks kind of familiar.  
  
“I’ve met him,” Ann breathes “In the elevator, he was with his manager…”  
  
They both glance down at the name under his face and suddenly realise why he looks so familiar.  
  
“Sora,” Ann blinks and it takes her a moment but when she realises why she thinks she’s seen him before; it’s because she has. She turns to Yusuke but he’s already figured it out too.  
  
They saw him.  
  
In Minagawa’s castle, they saw a much younger, cognitive version but there’s no possible way to mistake it. The cognitive treasure, the one that sang, the voice, the face, the eyes, it matches up so perfectly the name can’t even be a coincidence.  
  
“Minagawa...Sora,” Ann gasps.  
  
Yusuke can hear his song over the department store speakers. It’s beautiful, hauntingly pretty with his melodic voice carrying it. It’s undoubtedly some sort of pop, if they were to put him in a genre box, that’s probably going to be it but somehow it feels a little more than that. Like a piece of himself is in there too.  
  
_“The winter pretends it’s mild and holds me, a cutting wind carries and rewinds you around me…”_  
  
Yusuke feels like they both just found a treasure. A living, breathing treasure in the real world. They look back at the tiny picture of him and Ann’s smile looks a little wobbly but undoubtedly overjoyed.  
  
“Well,” she says in that tone she uses when she’s trying not to do something emotionally embarrassing like cry out of happiness “At least that had a happy ending.”  
  
* * *  
  
“Narukami Yu,” Akechi hums as he leans back into the couch.  
  
They’re back at Ryuji’s place - because it was the closest - and they’re all crowded in his living room. His mother sort of blinked at the lot of them (four teenage boys, an upset girl and a cat) before making them snacks and leaving to do some groceries.  
  
It took them one bottle of fizzy, too many questions and a lot of confused looks before they finally got through Shiho’s long and detailed explanation.  
  
Then they tried the nav app and found out they couldn’t go to where she’d been. At all.  
  
Ryuji eyes Shiho. She’s kind of calmed down now that she’s had some warm tea but it’s still weird to her. It’s going to be weird for a while.  
  
“So...you have a Persona,” Ryuji clarifies “And this Yu guy helped you.”  
  
“I think we’ve established that,” Akechi huffs but Ryuji ignores him.  
  
Shiho eyes the app on her phone “We really can’t go help him?”  
  
It doesn’t help that they don’t really know where she’d been and she doesn’t even know where she’d been. Even the history log on her app doesn’t say anything.  
  
Ishida watches her with a small sympathetic expression. Like he wants to help but he just doesn’t know what to say. He eventually ends up pushing a little box of chocolate koala biscuits at her which earns him a small, albeit tired, smile.  
  
“I’m remembering something,” Morgana admits, tail flicking and ear twitching as he tries to recall the memory. Shiho still can’t hear him. She never met him in the Metaverse, she doesn’t realise he can talk. But by now she has gathered that they can understand him and every now and then, they reply to his meowing as if he’s making perfect sense.  
  
“Remembering what?” Ishida asks curiously.  
  
Morgana looks like he’s struggling for a moment and shakes his head “It’s foggy,” he admits sheepishly “Like the last time I lost my memories.”  
  
Ryuji groans “Some help you are.”  
  
“Hey!” Morgana hisses “I’m trying! At least my brain still works, unlike you!”  
  
“What was that?!” Ryuji fights back. He’s tired from lack of sleep last night and there was a suicide at school today as well so his temper is actually pretty short.  
  
Akira ignores them both. He looks at the note that Shiho had handed him. He doesn’t recognise the handwriting, doesn’t know who Yu is but that’s not the point. The point is what he’d written.  
  
He’d tried? Tried what? Tried to stop the fake Phantom Thieves? Tried to get out of the Metaverse himself?  
  
His foot taps in mild irritation as his mind struggles to piece everything together. But all he can remember clearly is the sight of that hooded figure in the science room, and Minato’s voice speaking over and over in his head like a chant.  
  
_‘You’re the last leader alive.’_  
  
Was Yu a leader? Was Minato a leader? Is that why he hasn’t met them yet? Because they’re dead?  
  
His head is aching.  
  
“Look,” Ryuji finally gives up “We’re not gonna get anywhere tonight but I’m pretty sure by now that something fucked up is happening. That suicide today, plus this…” he glances warily at Shiho and frowns “Maybe we should call it a night. We’re not getting anywhere.”  
  
The last leader. Alive? Is Yu dead? Akira ponders silently and looks up only when he realises the others are looking at him and he hasn’t been paying attention. He blinks at Morgana “What?”  
  
“I said, are you going home tonight?” Morgana asks “You’ve been making me sleep in Ryuji’s place because it’s safer. With what happened today…”  
  
Nobody looks at ease. Even Ryuji looks like he wouldn’t object to company if Akira thinks they need it.  
  
Akira doesn’t feel alright with any of them being alone whilst there is an active killer on the loose. This isn’t like last year when he was perfectly fine with them going home - their targets had always been different. This time, they don’t know who’s coming after them.  
  
What they do know is that this person, this group, is not above public murder and execution if need be. It’s a different playing field entirely.  
  
He looks at Akechi, who is silent as well but seems to be leaving the final call to him.  
  
They can’t all stay here, Ryuji’s place is too small and it’s not fair on his mother. But he can’t ask Shiho to be comfortable with any of them sleeping in the same room as her either.  
  
He turns to Ryuji “Can Ishida stay here tonight?” he asks.  
  
Ryuji shrugs “I have a spare mattress.”  
  
Akira glances at Ishida but the boy nods, he’s understood the gravity of the situation and he seems a little relieved he won’t be alone tonight.  
  
He turns to Shiho “Will you be alright coming home with me?” he asks “I have a spare room. Given what’s going on, I’m not sure we’re safe on our own.”  
  
Shiho looks over the group warily but she seems to have picked up on it as well. She nods tentatively and Akira turns to Morgana “You’re staying with her,” he tells the cat. Surprisingly, Morgana doesn’t kick up a fuss.  
  
Akira finally turns to Akechi “And you,” he says “You’re coming with me.”  
  
Ryuji blinks “What?” he asks, very confused “He’s going to sleep on the floor?”  
  
Akira doesn’t have the energy to lie but he doesn’t have the strength to explain this relationship to anyone else when it’s new to him too. Instead he just nods and gets up. The rest of the group follow his lead.  
  
“Futaba will be here tomorrow,” he says “Sojiro is following in a week when he’s finished the paperwork on his business.”  
  
“So in the meantime, we should exercise caution and follow up on leads tomorrow,” Akechi continues and it’s the best lead they have so far. It’s a ridiculously slow investigation and it’s frustrating that they don’t have much to go on but they’re only half a group.  
  
They’re tired. Akira’s head hurts. None of this is making sense and he’s not even sure these fake Phantom Thieves are the biggest enemy here. He fears something else is in the background, pushing the buttons and twisting the wheels. Just like last time.  
  
He recognises the exhaustion.  
  
He leaves Ishida with Ryuji and takes the rest back home with him. Just like before, his parents don’t seem to have noticed his two day disappearance, nor do they really say much when he casually tells them Akechi and Shiho will be staying the night.  
  
“Your parents are…” Shiho starts and pauses, trying to find the right word.  
  
She doesn’t need to as Akechi comes into the spare room and watches Akira making the bed up for her. He folds his arms “Yes,” he says as if she’d been talking to him “His parents are...interesting.”  
  
Shiho frowns “Not quite the word I was looking for….”  
  
Morgana jumps up onto the end of the bed when Akira’s done making it up and he turns to the cat.  
  
“Look after her,” he tells him “If something happens…”  
  
“Don’t worry,” Morgana’s voice is confident and he looks up at him “Remember who you’re talking to. I’ve been dealing with all the Metaverse stuff way longer than any of you. I’m practically your master.”  
  
Akechi rolls his eyes and leaves for Akira’s bedroom. Akira shakes his head and turns to Shiho “Morgana’s going to stay with you,” he tells her.  
  
Shiho looks down at the cat for a moment and frowns “The...cat is going to keep me safe?”  
  
“Hey!” Morgana protests although he knows she can’t understand him yet “I’m the safest person you can be around at a time like this!”  
  
Akira shakes his head “He promises not to peep on you whilst you’re sleeping,” he mistranslates on purpose, earning another protest from Morgana.  
  
Shiho manages a small smile but it’s worried. It’s anxious. She looks down and thinks about Yu.  
  
“Is he still alive?” she asks quietly and Akira can’t answer. Not honestly. If what Minato said is true, then the answer is that Yu is not alive.  
  
“The bathroom is down the hallway,” he tells her instead “My room is next door. If you need anything, knock on the door.”  
  
She nods and he walks past her. He’s almost out of the room before she calls again.  
  
“Kurusu,” she asks. He stops and she swallows hard, as if trying to swallow the lump that has formed there “He didn’t survive, did he?”  
  
Morgana’s quiet. He’s watching the two and Akira knows his silence is only making her suspicions worse. Slowly, he turns around and looks at her properly.  
  
He shakes his head and watches the last spark of hope die in Shiho’s eyes, replaced only with sadness.  
  
Akira touches her arm “I’m sorry.”  
  
Shiho shakes her head. She swallows her tears back bravely and shivers “This whole thing...it’s...none of it makes sense. None of it makes any sense at all.”  
  
It’s not going to either. Not for awhile.  
  
Akira gently bids her goodnight when he’s sure she’s going to be okay. He goes into his own bedroom and when the door closes behind him, he feels all his exhaustion, all his thoughts and worries drop off like they’re supposed to.  
  
Because nobody is watching him here. Nobody but Akechi, who’s sitting on his bed, watching him like he can see everything.  
  
It’s not as uncomfortably invasive as it should be.  
  
There’s a mattress on the floor of Akira’s room but they both know they’re not going to use it. Akira goes to sit down next to Akechi and for a moment, both sit in silence. Both of them thinking over the day, what they’ve learnt.  
  
It’s like they’ve learnt only a little and from that experience, they have a million more questions, a million more concerns and no leads. It’s actually quite frustrating.  
  
“Goro,” Akira breaks the silence first and the other jumps at the use of his first name “Last year, when everything seemed hopeless and we were driven into a corner, we always managed to get out somehow.”  
  
Akechi watches him as Akira shakes his head “I can’t remember how,” he admits quietly “How are we getting out of this one?”  
  
It’s not like he’s forced everyone to be close to each other out of over cautiousness. The chances of them being found and attacked are real enough. They could be attacked tonight. They don’t know nearly enough about their enemy. Only that they are looking for them and within time, they’ll find them.  
  
It’s not like he really expects Akechi to answer him. As brilliant as Akechi is, he knows as much as everyone else and he can’t think of a way out either.  
  
He looks at Akechi and for a precious moment, he’s just distracted. Akechi’s hair looks as soft as ever, glinting just slightly under the dim room light. His eyes, dark and calculating, seem to soften exponentially when he looks at Akira. His hands are folded neatly on his lap. A lot of him may have been careful construction to fool the world but there are some habits in Akechi that can’t be trained out.  
  
His proper etiquette is a large part of it.  
  
Akira doesn’t miss the way Akechi’s eyes flick down to his lips and he feels a slight thrill rushing up his spine. It’s a tiny reminder that there’s something more between them. New, somewhat terrifying and unexplored. But not at all unwanted.  
  
It’s Akechi who pushes them down onto the mattress this time. Akira switches the light off and lies on his back with the former detective leaning precariously over him. One hand on either side of his body, pressing into the mattress.  
  
It’s dark but Akira can make out the contours and soft lines of Akechi’s face. The silver glow around his hair as the light from the window lights him up from behind.  
  
Akechi licks his lips - another small habit that does not go unnoticed by Akira - “Maybe you need to stop thinking,” he suggests and it comes out more suggestive than he probably intended it to be. They’re nowhere near ready to do that yet.  
  
Akira doesn’t even really know what that is. He’s still adjusting to the fact that Akechi is a guy and sooner or later, they’re going to want to do what guys do in bed.  
  
He doesn’t really know what guys do in bed. It’s not like this is something he’s ever wondered before he met Akechi Goro.  
  
A rare sheepish look crosses over Akechi’s face and he coughs awkwardly “I didn’t mean-”  
  
“I know,” Akira assures him with a small laugh. Well at least they both know they’re not there yet.  
  
Akechi leans down and kisses him. Probably to prevent himself saying anything else embarrassing. At first he’s all slight nerves and he nearly misses Akira’s lips but he corrects himself fast. Akira closes his eyes, he lets his hands slide up Akechi’s skinny back and feels his hair between his fingers.  
  
It _is_ soft.  
  
Akechi eventually leans in closer. He gently settles his entire weight on Akira, pressing him down into the mattress and it’s a strangely secure feeling. Like nothing could possibly attack Akira whilst Akechi has him effectively pinned down like this. He’s safe.  
  
They pull back and Akechi starts kissing down Akira’s neck. It’s pleasantly surprising how each kiss sends sparks that shoot right down Akira’s spine, down to where his toes curl. He tilts his head back and lets Akechi kiss his way down to his collarbone before the kisses stop and Akechi raises his head.  
  
“This probably isn’t wise,” he admits in that lofty detective tone he uses when he’s realised something “We’re probably going to get attacked soon. Is it wise to do this now?”  
  
No, but when is it wise to make out and spend the night in the same bed as the guy who tried to kill you? Akira wants to stop thinking, he wants to just forget for a moment that they’re all in monumental danger. He wants to be that irresponsible teenager who doesn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders and does stupid things like this because he’s seventeen and he’s supposed to do stupid things.  
  
He grabs Akechi’s shoulder and sighs tiredly “Just kiss me,” he demands “If they come for us, I’ll fight them with or without my pants.”  
  
Akechi splutters at the implication “I said I didn’t mean-!”  
  
Akira pulls him back down to kiss him, cutting him off and it takes a moment but Akechi sinks into him like before. Akira tilts his head, kisses him harder, wraps his arms around the other and holds on tightly. As he does, he feels Akechi relax as well, he feels him melt easily into him and return the kiss just as hard until they’re both short of breath but still leaning in for more.  
  
Akira manages to roll them over until he has Akechi lying underneath him. He pulls back just a little from the kiss, relishing the sight of Akechi’s completely unguarded expression. His eyes, soft and slightly amused, his hair splayed on the pillow.  
  
“You really are going to be the death of me,” Akechi breathes and Akira leans in.  
  
“You always say that,” he reminds him, their lips brushing slightly.  
  
He feels Akechi’s grin against his lips “I always mean it,” he promises as he leans up to kiss him again. He feels Akechi’s hand in his hair, his arm around his side and his brain, his thoughts, finally shut off completely.  
  
All he can taste, feel, hear, touch and see is Akechi Goro and right now, that’s the only thing that matters to him.  
  
The Metaverse, the hidden enemies, the fake Phantom Thieves, their seemingly impending doom, all of that, he can deal with.  
  
Tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned and I must say the last couple of weeks have taught me a few valuable lessons:  
> 1\. Idols are annoyingly pretty bastards who are also disarmingly charming and the closer you get, the more you can detect the scent of vanilla.  
> 2\. I really, really hate Shinjuku at night.  
> 3\. Going to Shibuya in the weekend is a terrible idea.
> 
> But it's nice to be back and writing. I feel like taking each chapter day by day is a temporary thing that will not work long term (because that means 31 chapters is one month and that doesn't do much for plot and character development) so don't be surprised to see the date jumping every now and then. Like in the game where you literally spent one week talking to people or building your guts or things like that, it doesn't translate so easily into stories so I'm not going to do that the whole way through. :)
> 
> Credit for the title of this chapter in particular and the lyrics mentioned go to the original singer of the song 'The Fifth Season'. Akanishi Jin. Go listen if you're curious ;)


	9. Swan Song

**4/23 - Saturday**  
  
It’s the scratching sound that wakes Akira. It’s so faint, barely audible. Kind of like a tree branch scratching against the window and that’s almost what Akira thinks it is. But when he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is Akechi, sitting up and alert, he’s staring at the door and not moving an inch as he listens.  
  
Akira, realising there’s more to the noise than a simple tree branch, stays still and listens to the scratching. It’s not the scratch against a window but instead it sounds more like something scratching at wood. Like a large insect within the walls - only Akira knows better.  
  
He sits up, intending to go straight to Shiho and Morgana to warn them when Akechi grabs his shoulder and slams him back down onto the bed.  
  
“Wait,” Akechi hisses.  
  
Akira stills, he listens but the scratching is only getting louder. He looks up “If Shiho and Morgana don’t hear that-”  
  
“Chances are, Morgana hears it,” Akechi answers calmly “That’s not why I stopped you.”  
  
Now Akira doesn’t get it. He frowns “Wait...what?”  
  
“If that’s what I think it is, we need to know how much it knows,” Akechi replies “If it’s the fake Phantom Thieves, we need to know what they’ll go after first. If it’s something else…”  
  
Akira’s confusion stays on his face and Akechi sighs “Just hold still.”  
  
Like he gets much of a choice with Akechi’s hand holding him down to the mattress.  
  
They wait for a minute and it’s easily the longest minute ever. Akechi’s hand is warm and holds him down so firmly that Akira doesn’t even contemplate getting up. He knows he’s supposed to concentrate on the very real danger that sounds like it’s scratching through his walls, but he’s distracted.  
  
Akechi’s hair looks so soft, Akira wants to touch it. He also smells nice too, which Akira doesn’t understand since he knows when Akechi last took a shower and it wasn’t recent. It takes Akira by surprise because he knows he’s supposed to be focused on not being killed by whatever is coming into his house but right now it’s just not on his list of priorities.  
  
There’s a small thumping noise and when the boys hear Shiho scream, they both get up. They rush out of their room and into the spare room where Shiho is backed up against the wall. Morgana is standing in front of her, back arched threateningly as he hisses at the shadow hovering near the window.  
  
Akira squints. It’s a shadow. A large, ominous figure that is somehow darker than the room itself. Large red eyes stare at them and a mist of dark smoke seems to billow from whatever it is. The first thing Akira notices is the temperature of the room dropping immediately as it makes its presence known.  
  
It feels like he stepped into a freezer.  
  
Akechi whistles and that’s all it takes to get the thing to stop staring at Morgana and Shiho. When the red eyes turn on him and Akira instead. Akira feels the temperature drop further, his eyes widen as the eyes focus on him.  
  
The shadow moves straight for him. Akira feels Akechi’s entire body weight pushing him down into the floor and when he closes his eyes, for one, terrifying moment, he’s almost certain that whatever it is, it killed them.  
  
He hears Akechi breathing. Hears Morgana’s panicked squeak and opens his eyes when the warmth returns to his body and he realises the shadow is gone.  
  
“Are you okay?” Morgana asks, sprinting over to to the two as Akechi gets up and helps Akira up as well.  
  
Akira nods and Akechi checks the door but they can feel it in the air, whatever that thing is, it’s gone now.  
  
“Well,” Akechi straightens his shirt and glances at Shiho, who’s still shaking but otherwise alright as she leans against the wall “Now we know what that thing was after.”  
  
It takes Akira’s mother about ten minutes to finally walk in and ask who screamed. It takes Akechi eleven minutes to realise that Akira’s parents care way less than they should.  
  
* * *  
  
By the time the four of them arrive at the school gates, Ryuji and Ishida are already there. Ishida looks pale and Ryuji just looks tired.  
  
“Don’t tell me,” Akechi drawls as he approaches the two loitering just outside the gates “Something attacked you last night?”  
  
Ryuji’s eyebrows knit into a confused frown “No,” he mutters and glances at Akira “Wait, did something attack last night?! Are you alright?!”  
  
“We’re fine,” Shiho assures him, though her voice is far less reassuring than she probably wants it to be.  
  
“Just a shadow,” Morgana adds, popping his head out of Akira’s bag “A big shadow with red-”  
  
“Later,” Akechi interrupts and turns to Ishida “If something didn’t attack you two last night, why do you look like that?”  
  
Ishida’s shaking and Ryuji may have been distracted with the news of the attack, but he’s not himself either. Akira belatedly realises too, that the courtyard is empty. There are teachers at the entrance doors but nobody’s going in.  
  
“There’s been another suicide,” Ryuji tells them, his voice low and almost angry “He was hanging from the third floor balcony with a calling card attached to the rope.”  
  
“Countdown. That’s what he meant isn’t it?” Ishida asks, pale as a sheet “They’re going to keep killing people until we reveal ourselves.”  
  
It’s a chilling thought but it makes sense. It’s like they’re holding the school hostage, killing them one by one until the other group makes their move. Akechi glances at him and Akira shakes his head. It goes without saying that they’re not going to play by these rules. There has to be another way.  
  
“We should get out of here then,” Akechi decides at last “If we’re going to start looking into this, we’re going to need a place of our own. For now, we’ll use my apartment.”  
  
They walk into Akechi’s apartment building and when the lot of them walk into the lobby, they’re greeted by Johnny. Who stands there with his arms folded and one eyebrow raised.  
  
“This is going to be a regular thing for you, isn’t it?” he asks Akechi “Not that I particularly mind but it’s written in the rules and I’m supposed to abide by them somehow.”  
  
“Turn a blind eye,” Akechi advises him and ushers the others towards the elevator “It’ll get easier if you pretend you didn’t see them.”  
  
Johnny’s eye twitches but he doesn’t actually seem that angry about the fact that Akechi keeps breaking the rule of ‘no visitors’. Instead his lips curve into a small smirk. He shakes his head and waves Akechi off.  
  
Akechi packs everyone into his tiny kitchen/living room and clears the messy kitchen table. Shiho looks around, slightly worried as she eyes the stack of dishes in the sink.  
  
“For a former calculating detective, I expected something more…” she hesitates, trying to find the right word “...clean.”  
  
“I’m clean in everything except my personal life,” Akechi assures her as he sits down at the table with the group.  
  
Akira pulls out the calling card from yesterday and places it on the table. He sighs “Futaba should be here sometime today,” he tells them “Her only lead so far is a hacker named ‘Jax’ who stopped her from getting into the security cameras.”  
  
“It’s a start,” Morgana comments as he sits on the table and looks at the card “What else have we got?”  
  
The group suddenly look a little depressed and Ryuji shakes his head “I wish our whole group were here,” he mutters “Not that you two suck,” he adds quickly with a glance at Ishida and Shiho “But this just feels weird. We’re trying to be the Phantom Thieves and half of our group isn’t even here.”  
  
“We work on what we have,” Akechi points out.  
  
“If this is a countdown, it means more and more people are going to die until someone steps forward,” Ishida pipes up, almost hesitantly “They’re telling us that if we don’t show ourselves, someone is gonna die.”  
  
Shiho shivers “If at all possible, I’d like to avoid that.”  
  
“We all would,” Akechi agrees “But we need more information on the victims. Perhaps if we have that, we might be able to predict who’s going to be targeted next. What we do know is that the person who shot Minagawa has to have been his type.”  
  
Ryuji huffs “Too bad there’s a lot of ‘his type’ in our school,” he mutters “Tiny dudes everywhere.”  
  
He nods to Ishida who kicks him under the table.  
  
Akechi ignores the two of them and turns to Akira “Futaba may be able to help us a great deal in that aspect. If this hacker, Jax, is what’s keeping her out of scouring the security cameras, then she may be able to find him. Or at the very least, get past him and get us the information we need.”  
  
That’s exactly what Akira is worried about. He doesn’t say it aloud but he really wishes Futaba had stayed in Tokyo. She had her life there, she was going to go to school with a childhood friend and now at the slightest worry that Akira was in trouble, not only was she coming here but Sojiro was too.  
  
He missed them, of course he wanted to see them again, but not like this. Not with Sojiro closing Leblanc down, not with both of them coming here where it’s actually dangerous. He looks down and Akechi frowns but doesn’t comment on it as Ryuji rubs his leg and turns to Shiho.  
  
“So what was this thing that attacked you?” he asks and glances at the others “You guys said something attacked you.”  
  
“Big, dark and red eyes,” Morgana speaks up “It looked like a shadow.”  
  
Ryuji looks confused and Akira can’t blame him. With the exception of the time the Metaverse literally took over the real world, those things, shadows, monsters, they’re supposed to stay in their world. The Metaverse. They’re not supposed to come into reality like this.  
  
“It made the room cold,” Morgana adds and glances at Akechi and Akira “Did you guys notice that?”  
  
Akira nods. It wasn’t just the cold that caught his attention, it was the energy the creature seemed to suck out of the atmosphere. It felt way more threatening than just a cold shadow and yet Akira doesn’t know how to describe it exactly. Kind of like standing in a freezer with the sense that nothing is ever going to be alright ever again.  
  
“If I had to give it a name,” Akechi makes this face that looks extremely reluctant of what he’s about to say “I’d probably have to call it a ‘dementor’”  
  
Ryuji chokes “Dude, this isn’t Harry Potter!”  
  
* * *  
  
When Ann arrives on set, she’s immediately taken away to makeup. Her agent sticks around to thank the producers for taking his star on such short notice (in other words, he’s here to kiss ass and try to get Ann more roles).  
  
Ann is powdered, her hair pulled and twirled, she’s quickly fitted into a blue dress and the stylists fawn over how easily she looks the part but in actual fact, it’s quite disarming. Normally, for a drama, there would have to be months of practicing the role, reading the lines, meetings but the truth is that Ann came into this project very late and her casting was literally last minute.  
  
There’s only one culprit for that and she’s grinning ear to ear on set when Ann is finally pushed out to join filming.  
  
Ann blushes. It feels too fast and yet she was warned this would happen. Rise is already in costume as she rushes off the set and runs to take Ann’s hands.  
  
“You look great!” Rise gushes, her eyes looking over Ann’s dress in deep approval “I was right. You’re the perfect fit for the part.”  
  
It’s not a huge part and there aren’t that many lines anyway. If anything, it’s only to get Ann’s foot in the door but she’s still feeling overwhelmed. For starters, a huge star like Rise had called her out specifically for this role and for another thing, this is her first role. The first time she will appear in a drama on TV.  
  
Modelling for magazines is one thing, this is a different playing field altogether and Ann still can’t understand why Rise specifically wanted her to be here.  
  
“Ah, Ann-chan,” the director says as he comes up to the two “We expect great things from you today. Rise-chan in particular was very persistent that this role only be filled by you.”  
  
But why? Ann glances at Rise but she only sees excitement on the girl’s face. She bows to the director and he walks off with a satisfied look on his face.  
  
Rise turns to her “I know it can be scary, first role and all, but you’ll be fine. If there’s anything you don’t understand, let me know alright?”  
  
It’s only a few lines and Ann has taken direction before from photographers. If the director barks out the same things, she’ll probably be fine but she still finds herself wondering why. Why did Rise want her in particular? Why is she so excited about this when Ann herself is feeling very overwhelmed?  
  
Ann glances around at the crew working on the set, the director is already barking orders at his coffee boy and the makeup artists rush back to Rise and tell her to stop moving around so much because she’s screwing up her hair. Ann’s agent is still bowing repeatedly to the producers and in the midst of all of this, Ann is still wondering why she’s here.  
  
But then Rise takes her hand, smiles and Ann understands one thing at least: Rise had called her out. Not just because she thought she’d be perfect for the role but also because, for one reason or another, she’d needed her.  
  
“They’re gone,” Rise had said, the most sorrowful expression on her face as she remembered her friends and it was only that sadness that made Ann not ask for more details. Whatever happened, Rise doesn’t have her friends anymore. They’re ‘gone’ and Ann still doesn’t know what she means by that.  
  
They’re called on set and Ann tries desperately to push down her nerves and focus on what she’s supposed to be doing here. Her character, Kira, is the deceased younger cousin of Rise’s character and really only turns up when Rise is struggling with something. All of Ann’s scenes are supposed to be in soft light, a flashback or a scene where she really appears to offer Rise some support and guidance.  
  
Because she’s dead, she doesn’t have to say much, which is kind of a relief because Ann is way too nervous to remember her lines.  
  
It takes Ann about three takes to calm down and remember she’s supposed to be acting. Rise keeps giving her encouraging smiles and words and somehow it works. Ann relaxes into the role, she’s the treasured, deceased cousin who shapes Rise’s characters’ life so much, she constantly calls back to her for help despite the fact that she’s dead.  
  
Once Ann relaxes, she gets it. Her expressions are more than enough to cover for the fact that she keeps forgetting the few lines she has. When the director finally yells cut, satisfied with the scene, Rise grins at her and Ann thinks it wouldn’t be so bad to have another friend.  
  
* * *  
  
Futaba arrives in the afternoon. She sets herself up in Akechi’s kitchen and takes over a good third of his table with her computer.  
  
Sojiro comes in as well. He looks kind of out of place in the kitchen full of teenagers and despite Akechi telling him he doesn’t have to, Sojiro starts cleaning in order to keep himself busy.  
  
“Can’t believe you kids are in this again,” Sojiro grumbles as he starts stacking the dirty dishes aside so he can run the sink and fill it with water. Akira gets up to help him, grabbing a towel to dry the dishes that Sojiro seems determined to clean.  
  
Sojiro shakes his head “I thought for sure, after last year, that you’d never have to go through this again. Now you are and I’m...well I couldn’t stay in Tokyo.”  
  
He starts cleaning. Akira gets at the dishes he puts aside and glances at him. Sojiro hasn’t changed, still the same tall, grumbling, quiet man he’d been when Akira had first met him. Only now Akira knows there’s a soft spot Sojiro has for him and his friends. After all they’ve been through, it’s Sojiro who feels like the real parent here.  
  
Sojiro glances at Futaba, who is hacking away on her computer already and shakes his head “Why did you have to get into this again?” he asks quietly, turning his eyes on Akira “I thought the deal was to leave this with the adults. I thought you’d ended this.”  
  
Akira had thought so too. Fate, or whatever this is, had other plans. He puts the dishes away and shakes his head “I didn’t mean to,” he confesses “None of us really had a choice in the matter.”  
  
“And now there’s shootings, a suicide…” Sojiro grumbles and scrubs away at a particularly hard spot on the plate “I’ll tell you one thing, I understand none of this but it made sense to come here. Not only would Futaba not leave it alone, but we couldn’t leave you here alone either.”  
  
Akira wants to point out that he has his parents here but Sojiro, of all people, should know that’s a low bar to set in terms of support. He wants to point out he has Akechi but their relationship is not common knowledge. Not yet anyway.  
  
“Do you have a plan?” Akira asks tentatively.  
  
Sojiro nods “There’s no Leblanc here,” he points out “So I’ll make one here. The setup should take some time but it’ll keep me busy whilst Futaba attends the school here. Keep an eye on her for me, if anything happens to her, it’ll be your ass.”  
  
It’s a loving threat at best and Akira can’t help but grin as he promises.  
  
Back at the table, Futaba’s fingers fly over the keyboard as Ryuji leans back in his seat. He’s feeling kind of useless and one glance at the others tells him they feel somewhat the same. He sits up “Let’s go out and get some food,” he suggests “Bring it back here for a party.”  
  
Akechi raises an eyebrow at him “Now?”  
  
“Yeah,” Ryuji shrugs “Why not? We haven’t welcomed Ishida into the group yet and now, I guess Suzui is one of us as well. Plus now we have Futaba and Master in the mix as well, we gotta celebrate that at least.”  
  
Shiho looks contemplative and shrugs “What are you suggesting?”  
  
“Sushi!” Morgana insists, jumping up onto the table and nearly knocking over Akechi’s drink “I want sushi!”  
  
Akechi taps Morgana in the head and Ryuji turns to the others “What do you think?”  
  
Ishida eyes the table and hums “This is the perfect time for nabe.”  
  
“Agreed,” Shiho nods and turns to Akechi “Do you have a pot?”  
  
Akechi points to the cupboards under the sink and Ryuji grins, satisfied. He gets up “Right, then we’ll head out and get the ingredients. Suzui, Ishida, you’re coming with me.”  
  
They agree all too quickly and Akechi suspects they really just wanted something to do as they all head out to get the groceries. Morgana hops over to watch Futaba work instead as Akechi gets up to set up the pot.  
  
“The others are thinking nabe,” he announces to Sojiro and Akira.  
  
Sojiro finishes up the last of the dishes and hums “I should leave you kids to it. I’m really only here to settle some house paperwork and school things for Futaba.”  
  
“You can join us,” Akechi offers, pulling out the large pot from under the sink “There will probably be plenty to go around.”  
  
Sojiro shakes his head “Thank you for the offer but I’ll settle some things and come back for Futaba later,” he turns to Akira “Don’t get into trouble, alright?”  
  
Akira wonders if he can even keep that promise these days. He watches Sojiro leave and cleans the last of the dishes. Akechi sets the pot up in the middle of the table and Futaba notices nothing as she taps away with Morgana on her lap, watching her work.  
  
Akechi comes back to Akira and sighs “I know it’s frustrating,” he says quietly “But maybe having Futaba and Sojiro here wouldn’t be so bad. We certainly could use the help.”  
  
Akira blinks at him. It’s like the other read his mind and one unimpressed look from Akechi tells him that the other had been reading his mind. Akechi glances at the kitchen table but neither of the occupants are noticing as Akechi steps a little closer and brushes his hand against Akira’s.  
  
“You’re an open book to me, Kurusu,” Akechi tells him quietly “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. No harm will come to Sojiro and Futaba.”  
  
He can’t possibly promise that. As brilliant as Akechi is, he can’t promise he’ll personally make sure no harm comes to them. But he sounds so certain and the look in his eyes is so firm that Akira wants to believe him wholeheartedly. It calms him down anyway. Not that he’d been outwardly panicking but Akechi seems to have read him well.  
  
Then Ryuji comes back in with Shiho and Ishida behind him and the moment is gone, Akechi pulls his hand away and Akira wonders why they have to keep this part a secret.  
  
They get through the nabe, but not without Ryuji and Ishida fighting over what kind of water to use. When they’re all full and the pot in the middle only has a few things left, Futaba finally speaks up.  
  
“Okay,” she says “There is a hacker on the school grounds. He...or she...goes by the name of ‘Jax’ and they’ve been a real pain in my ass when it comes to checking in surveillance or hacking into the school records.”  
  
Akechi looks up from where he’s been poking at the last of his sauces, he sets his eyes on Futaba and hums “Is there no way this Jax person is a teacher?”  
  
“It’s very unlikely,” Futaba shakes her head “I’m not leaving it off the table because there is that possibility but the language, the source where it’s coming from, not only is this a student, but they’re on the school grounds.”  
  
Ryuji frowns “That would make it too easy to find him, wouldn’t it?” he asks “I mean, if this hacker is causing you problems then that means they’re good, but if you can figure out so easily where they are...isn’t that too easy?”  
  
“It is, that’s why I’m not barging into the school right now to find him,” Futaba hums “It’s very likely that Jax is using the school as a fake location to put me on the wrong path but we don’t know enough. For now, Jax is what’s stopping me from finding out more about the students who are being forced into suicide. The only way to face this hacker is to do it head on and that’s not going to be easy either.”  
  
“By the sounds of it, none of this is going to be easy,” Ishida grumbles “We have a fake group that’s after us, one of them calls himself Loki. We’ve got red eyed shadows attacking at night, students committing suicide, Minagawa was shot right after we publically sent out a calling card for him...am I missing anything?”  
  
Akechi nods “There’s also the fact that the Metaverse is back at all and something is clearly behind it but we don’t know what.”  
  
Shiho looks down at her lap. She thinks about the last time she’d seen Yu, running out the window, saying something there had sensed her awakening. Had that been what had opened the Metaverse? Or was it something else?  
  
The frustrating part was that they just didn’t know enough. They were fighting blind.  
  
“So what about this,” Ryuji speaks up “What if we find another Palace. Another shitty adult who’s hurting people. Do we steal his heart?”  
  
“Why not?” Morgana asks from where he’s still sitting on Futaba’s lap “We’re still the Phantom Thieves, aren’t we?”  
  
“We are but there’s a chance that whoever we call out next, will be killed,” Akechi points out “Just like Minagawa. We publically sent him a calling card and it doesn’t matter that we managed to change his heart, he was murdered. If this was done by the fake Phantom Thieves, then we’re their scapegoats.”  
  
Futaba’s eyes are sharp “And if the murder wasn’t done by the fake Phantom Thieves?” she asks.  
  
Akechi takes a deep breath and shakes his head “Then we’re still going to cause panic with whoever we target next. People know by now that a calling card means death. These suicides were preceded by calling cards as well, we have no way of letting the public know that there are two groups working at the same time. One kills, the other doesn’t.”  
  
Akira can see Ryuji getting angrier and he can’t blame him. Ryuji bangs the table with his fist and shakes his head “That’s total bullshit,” he points out, seething at Akechi “Some fake group just comes in, takes our name, kills our targets and everyone thinks we’re the same?!”  
  
Shiho bites her lip and looks down, Ishida looks kind of lost. Morgana jumps up onto the table and faces Ryuji.  
  
“He’s right though,” Morgana points out “This group has taken our name and it’s going to be very hard to convince everyone that there are two groups here, not just one. More than that, there are students dying - probably one per day - we don’t have time to start a war against people we can’t see.”  
  
“So what do we do?!” Ryuji shouts “I can’t sit by and let this happen!”  
  
“Neither can I,” Akira points out calmly and that shuts Ryuji up right away. The blonde looks at his friend and Akira meets his eyes firmly.  
  
“We’re not going to sit and do nothing,” Akira tells them all “But we can’t fight something we can’t see. I’m not going to leave all of this to Futaba either. We need to find out why these particular students are being targeted and from there, we might be able to find a similarity and predict who they’re going to target next.”  
  
Akechi nods in agreement “That sounds like a decent plan.”  
  
“Futaba is going to try and track down Jax and find out everything she can about him,” Akira continues “Or at least find a way around him so we can get access to security footage and track down whoever shot Minagawa.”  
  
“A tall order but one that Alibaba can provide,” Futaba stretches her arms out and grins smugly.  
  
“The attack last night tells us there’s something supernatural after us so none of us can sleep alone,” Akira points out “Unless anyone has any objections, I suggest we sleep in pairs until we figure out what’s coming after us.”  
  
Nobody seems to dispute it. Ishida nods “I’ll tell my mum I’m studying at Sakamoto’s place.”  
  
Ryuji whines “Dude, why’s it gotta be my place? My ma’ is gonna wonder why I never have girls over….”  
  
“And lastly…” Akira turns to Shiho “We’re going to need to tell the others we have a new member in our group.”  
  
“Oh,” Ryuji mutters as some of the colour drains from his face “Ann is not gonna like this.”  
  
Shiho thinks about the world Yu saved her from, the creatures ready to attack, the monstrous sight of the Metaverse taking over the world she knew and realises, suddenly, that Ann has known about this world for a little over a year now. Ann has been actively playing as part of the Phantom Thieves that took over Tokyo last year.  
  
No. Ann isn’t going to like this. Especially if she’d been working to stop Shiho from ever having to experience what that world is like.  
  
“Let’s get started there then,” Futaba suggests “It’s going to take us some time to gather enough information about the students affected but maybe with that, we can avoid more deaths.”  
  
A dark look draws over Akechi’s eyes as he doesn’t say what Akira and Futaba are both thinking. They have two students, two deaths. It’s not enough to draw up a similarity and figure out who’s coming next. If they’re going to be able to figure this out, more people are probably going to have to die and there’s nothing they can do about it.  
  
* * *  
  
**Futaba:** So, guys, lets get this out of the way quickly so we can talk about the really important stuff. First off, I have placed an extra load of security on the group chat so we’re not hacked.  
  
**Makoto:** Not a bad idea.  
  
**Ann:** Actually, that’s a brilliant idea.  
  
**Yusuke:** Agreed.  
  
**Futaba:** Secondly, I’ve moved with Sojiro to Akira’s hometown. It’s easier for me to work there and figure this whole thing out.  
  
**Ann:** Wait, what?  
  
**Yusuke:** But we’re not allowed to do the same thing?  
  
**Akira:** I didn’t agree to this, she just did it. You guys still stay in Tokyo.  
  
**Haru:** I doubt we have a choice in the matter anyway.  
  
**Makoto:** Thirdly?  
  
**Futaba:** Thirdly, we have a new member to our Phantom Thieves.  
  
**Shiho:** Hi everyone.  
  
**Ann:** SHIHO?!  
  
**Shiho:** Sorry Ann. Long story, I’ll call you later.  
  
**Futaba:** And that’s it for now. Keep your heads down, try not to get in trouble.  
  
**Yusuke:** Well that aside, there is some news on our end as well. We’ve found Minagawa Sora.  
  
**Haru:** The son? The one who disappeared?  
  
**Yusuke:** The same.  
  
**Ann:** He’s a singer. In my agency, he’s known as the ‘problem child’ because he doesn’t do what his agent tells him to do.  
  
**Haru:** In any case, I’m glad to hear he’s alive.  
  
**Makoto:** Same, but his timing is interesting.  
  
**Akechi:** Agreed.  
  
**Ryuji:** What does that mean?  
  
**Makoto:** Minagawa Sora appears just after his father is killed?  
  
**Ann:** It’s not like it’s not public knowledge. He probably found out through the news and that’s why he’s coming out now. Because it’s safe.  
  
**Yusuke:** There is probably no love lost between son and father anyway. We know what his father did to him.  
  
**Haru:** Let’s not repeat it.  
  
**Ishida:** Please.  
  
**Ann:** Anyway, he’s there and we know he’s safe. That’s the good news.  
  
**Makoto:** What’s the bad news?  
  
**Ann:** None yet….as far as I know. Aside from being a problem child he seems to be alright actually. His music is addictive.  
  
**Yusuke:** That’s one word for it.  
  
**Ann:** How would you describe it then?  
  
**Yusuke:** Raw. Powerful. It’s coming from something real.  
  
**Akechi:** Given his past, he probably has a wealth of pain to write from.  
  
**Haru:** What a horrible thing to say!  
  
**Akechi:** And yet it’s true. You won’t get a more tortured artist.  
  
**Ishida:** Still…  
  
**Makoto:** Was there anything else we needed to know?  
  
**Ryuji:** Have any of you been visited by dementors lately?  
  
**Haru:** What?  
  
**Ann:** ??  
  
**Yusuke:** Not that I’m aware of…  
  
**Akechi:** Then we’re fine.  
  
**Akira:** Stay alert everyone. We still don’t know what we’re up against or how much they know. Those of you in Tokyo will stay there until we’re sure it’s safe to come back here. Please don’t come here.  
  
**Ann:** But what if you need us?!  
  
**Shiho:** Given what’s going on at school, it’s best if you stay away until we know what’s going on.  
  
**Futaba:** We’re fighting blind for now. I’m on it.  
  
**Akira:** Keep your heads down. Try not to attract attention. We’ll figure out what we’re up against.  
  
**Makoto:** Be careful.  
  
**Haru:** Please. If there’s anything we can do, let us know but please be careful.  
  
**Ishida:** We’ll be fine.  
  
**Shiho:** We’ll try.  
  
**Yusuke:** Especially you, Ryuji.  
  
**Ryuji:** Why are you singling me out?!  
  
**Ann:** Yes, keep your head down..Ryuji.  
  
**Ryuji:** WTF??  
  
**Makoto:** Well so long as we get through this, it should be fine. Just stay safe everyone, especially you, Ryuji.  
  
**Ryuji:** You guys officially suck.  
  
**Yusuke:** I mean it though.  
  
* * *  
  
**4/27 - Wednesday**  
  
Akira leans his chin against his hand and tries to ignore the way his eyesight blurs every now and then as he reads over the textbook.  
  
It’s been four days and things haven’t gotten better. With one suicide a day, the school called for more counsellors, more interventions, tougher procedures to ensure students couldn’t get into any dangerous places but that didn’t help anything.  
  
He’s surprised the school is still open after this. The only thing that’s really saving them from being shut down completely is the fact that their board can’t seem to make a decision and the police are still trying to solve this.  
  
The calling cards stacked up and the only bright side was that Futaba had not only moved into the school but was also in an active war against the hacker named Jax. With her on location, it was much easier to engage Jax and distract him so she could use another server to hack into the school and grab the files she needed.  
  
The situation was wearing everyone down. Ryuji got angrier every time a suicide happened, Shiho was withdrawing into herself and Ishida cried a lot. This was also when they found out that Ishida sang to himself when it was really bad and he needed any kind of comfort. The situation was so dark that none of them could even blame him for it.  Akira honestly couldn’t blame him either, this was a heavy situation to deal with and they were nearly helpless and powerless to do anything about it as something unknown, something unforeseen, was stopping them and blocking them.  
  
The only bright side really was that they hadn’t been attacked by a shadow again.  
  
At the front of the classroom, Kojima is running through the lesson and it’s kind of pointless. Nobody is paying attention and with everything that’s been going on, all the students who have died it’s not just the students who can’t focus, it’s the teachers too. Futaba only managed to get into the school so easily because some parents are taking their kids out.  
  
It says a lot about Akira’s parents that not only have they allowed him to stay there, but they also haven’t spoken to him about the suicides at all. Ryuji’s mother had a fit when she found out and it took him an entire day to calm her down and assure her he’d be alright. Shiho’s mother had voiced her worry and so had Ishida’s parents though none took their kids out against their will. Even Johnny had asked Akechi if he was alright which was what just made it harsher that Akira’s own parents hadn’t mentioned anything.  
  
Sojiro kept watch over them all. Especially Futaba and Akira. In his own special way, he worried - mostly by threatening Akira that if something happened to him or Futaba, he’d bring them back to yell at them for scaring him.  
  
He feels Akechi’s eyes at the back of his head and pays it no mind. He hasn’t been sleeping much lately, even with Akechi hovering nearby, he still hasn’t managed to get much sleep. No one has.  
  
His phone buzzes and Morgana starts in the desk as Akira reaches for it and subtly flicks it open under the tabletop.  
  
**Futaba:** I got through. I have the student files at last. Meet at Akechi’s after school, I think I know who’s gonna be next.  
  
He hears Akechi’s exhale behind him and glances down at Morgana, who looks incredibly relieved.  
  
“Thank god,” the cat says “It’s not much, but we’re getting somewhere.”  
  
* * *  
  
Ann looks over the dress she’s supposed to wear and tilts her head. She’s done fashion shows before, that’s nothing new. But the level of this fashion show compared to normal ones is somewhat different and she has her appearance in Rise’s drama to thank for that.  
  
People started calling into the agency, asking for her to do things, participate in events. It helped that Rise usually came along, either because she was invited as well or because the invitation only worked if Ann came with her.  
  
Either way, they were starting to be recognised as a pair.  
  
Not that Ann really minded. In fact, she didn’t mind at all. The more she got to know Rise, the more she felt a kinship with her. A similarity rare in most people, Rise was almost exactly like her. They could have been sisters. Ann had never found someone she just clicked with so easily. Even Shiho had come with her initial doubts and worries but Rise had come to her and somehow, Ann hadn’t minded.  
  
She saw her almost every day. If not for the drama shooting, then in private and for events. The more she hung out with Rise, the more people noticed her.  
  
It was both exciting and terrifying.  
  
But this is different. An internationally recognised fashion show with brands from both overseas and in Japan. In between shows, there are musical performances to keep the crowd going and through all the busyness of the schedules and models, Ann hasn’t failed to notice a familiar name in the lineup.  
  
Rise sits at her mirror, fussing over her hair. Ann doesn’t know why she bothers, the hair stylists will attack it soon after she puts her costume on. There are at least twenty models in the dressing room, all shifting between make up and hair. Down the hall are the dressing rooms for the artists and Ann knows when Sora is there.  
  
Because she can hear his manager banging on his door.  
  
“Sora!” the man shouts, his voice floating down the hall “Open the door!”  
  
“It’s the problem child again,” one of the models from Ann’s agency hums as she pulls her costume on.  
  
Ann glances at the door and heads out. She peers down the hall out of curiosity and sees the poor agent she’d met in the elevator. He has a clipboard in his arms and he’s banging on the door. The racket he causes is gathering attention too. Not just from Ann but from other models and musicians as well.  
  
Rise appears next to her and hums “I’ve heard about this kid,” she admits “He’s one of those stubborn ones. Has his own reasons for doing things and nobody can get him to do anything he doesn’t wanna do. Reminds me of one of my friends.”  
  
She gets a slightly depressed look on her face, just for a second and Ann takes her hand to give it a squeeze. The look is gone right away and Rise smiles at her “Maybe we can help.”  
  
Ann doesn’t know how. If this kid is as stubborn as he’s rumoured to be (or, god help her, as stubborn as Akira) then there’s not much she can do but Rise leads her down the hall to where the poor agent is and flashes him her most charming smile.  
  
“May I?” she asks.  
  
The poor man looks like he’s at the end of his wits. He happily steps aside and sighs “He does this every single time,” he admits “I don’t know how I’m going to get him on Music Space if he keeps doing this.”  
  
“Why does he do this?” Ann asks quietly.  
  
The agent glances at the locked door and frowns “Nerves? I guess? We’ve talked about it but he’s not the type to let people in.”  
  
Given what Ann knows about his childhood, she’s not surprised.  
  
Rise knocks softly on the door and leans in “Sora-kun?” she calls “My name is Rise, can I come in?”  
  
No answer, Rise glances at Ann who steps forward and knocks as well.  
  
“Sora-kun?” she asks and she can hear a shuffling noise in the dressing room “It’s Ann, we met once. Can we talk?”  
  
A moment of silence and finally the lock clicks and the door opens just an inch to show a pair of blue eyes and a shower of damp, dark hair. Sora looks over Rise, his agent and Ann before reaching a hand out to grab Ann’s wrist.  
  
“Just you,” he mumbles and drags Ann in.  
  
As soon as Ann is inside, Sora closes the door and it takes Ann a moment to adjust to the room. It’s a dressing room like any other but where most artists will have their stuff lying about in cases, or at least a bag in the corner, the only thing Sora has is his phone sitting on the dresser and a normal backpack tucked away in the corner.  
  
She glances at the boy who is already slinking back to his chair, where he curls up and picks his phone up again.  
  
“Sora-kun,” Ann tries and approaches him “If you didn’t want to do this performance, why did you agree to it?”  
  
She didn’t really notice it before when she’d met him in the elevator, but there’s an ethereal beauty to Sora, almost as if he isn’t human at all. He’s far too pretty. Even dressed as he is in a plain black t-shirt and ripped jeans, his flawless skin peeks out under a shower of damp, black hair and she can smell a sweet aroma coming off him. Almost like vanilla.  
  
Sora looks at her and bites his lip “He talked me into it,” he admits quietly.  
  
“You’re a singer,” Ann reminds him “Singers usually perform to audiences right?”  
  
She sees a shade of fear crossing over his eyes as he glances at the locked door and shakes his head “My audiences are usually much smaller,” he admits “I shouldn’t have said yes to this. I can’t do it.”  
  
Ann hums “Is it the crowds that make you nervous?” she asks “Do you get stage fright?”  
  
“That’s not it,” Sora mumbles, he looks uncomfortable and puts his phone down “I mean, that is it but I…” he stops, he looks troubled and brings his knees up so he can hug his legs to his chest. Sora struggles for a moment as he tries to think of how to explain this “I sing because I have to,” he admits “Because...I don’t feel right when I’m not making music, when I’m not singing.”  
  
He is like Yusuke. Yusuke only paints because he must, because there is this part of him that resides with the art, the love of creating something that came from raw emotion. Granted, his talent of painting had been tainted and used by Madarame, just as Sora’s talent in singing was probably used by his own father, but still they must. It’s their passion.  
  
“Do crowds scare you?” Ann asks and her voice is considerably gentler this time. She’s a lot softer on him than she had been when she’d first met Futaba. But that time was different, Futaba needed a firm voice to reach her, firm voices don’t seem to work on Sora.  
  
Sora doesn’t answer but it’s clear the thought of singing to the hundreds of people out there does terrify him. Ann hears the stagehands shouting orders outside and turns back to the boy in front of her.  
  
She knows what he’s been through. She knows what his father did to him. But she can’t say anything about it.  
  
“Sora-kun,” she tries one more time and reaches forward to take his hand “Do you know what I do when I’m nervous? When I’m in front of a lot of people like that?”  
  
Sora blinks and Ann smiles “I think about the people I love, the people I want to see there. I imagine they’re there and they’re the only ones watching me. It makes it easier.”  
  
He stares at her, almost as though he hadn’t thought to do such a thing himself and he whispers “People you...love?”  
  
“My friends,” Ann explains “My family. I think about them, imagine they’re the only ones in the crowd.”  
  
Sora looks down, he’s thinking but it seems to work as he doesn’t seem quite so nervous anymore. Ann lets go of his hand and he nods “Let my manager in,” he tells her and Ann grins. She gets up and heads to the door and just before she leaves, she hears Sora’s quiet voice “Thank you.”  
  
Ann nods to him and heads out. She lets his frantic manager inside and turns to Rise, who is beaming at her.  
  
“Well?” Rise asks “Did it work?”  
  
Ann glances at the door she closed behind herself. She sighs “I hope so.”  
  
They’re soon taken to hair and makeup, Ann is stuffed into a black corset and fitted into an extravagant dress with black silks, red ribbons and silver buttons that go all the way up to her neck. She’s even given a whip and placed next to Rise, who is dressed in an innocent looking white dress, complete with white ribbons in her hair.  
  
When the music starts, deafening as it should be, Ann gets into a familiar mode. It’s a fragile state of mind that gets her through these things. Her legs know how to walk, her body knows how to move, how to turn to show off the best angles of the outfit but it’s her mind that needs to be controlled. She sees Rise walk ahead of her and shuts down the nerves.  
  
They’re there in the crowd. All of them. The people she loves. She imagines Akira somewhere to the left of the catwalk, looking cool as always. Somewhere down the front, Ryuji is drooling over Rise. Yusuke is making dry comments about the artistic endeavour of the fashion show whilst Makoto is getting ready to smack his head. Haru has VIP seats of course, Morgana is just barely holding himself back from jumping up onto the catwalk, Futaba is probably marvelling over the electronic setup of the show and Shiho is smiling her soft smile. Encouraging and unwavering.  
  
It helps. It always does. The flashes of the cameras, the hundreds of eyes lessen only to those she wants to be there. She misses them all and if she hadn’t been spending so much time with Rise lately (and Yusuke when she can get him out of his room) she would have felt the absence of them so much harder.  
  
Especially Ryuji and Akira. She imagines them as she reaches the end of the catwalk and her heart aches at the thought that it isn’t so easy to see them anymore. Especially because where they are, they’re in danger. She turns around and saunters back up the catwalk. It hurts and she misses them so much.  
  
When she comes off the stage, she finds Rise and pulls her into a much needed hug. Rise hugs her back and bless her, she doesn’t ask questions. She seems to know already because her arms tighten around her as Ann hides her face in Rise’s shoulder.  
  
Thank god for Rise. Ann is under no illusions that Rise was exactly what she needed, when she needed it. A friend, someone just like her, someone who just clicked. They were meant to be friends and Ann has never felt more thankful that Rise reached out to her first. Rise had needed friends too.  
  
Ann pulls back and rubs at her eyes “Sorry,” she sniffs and tries to laugh “I was thinking about my friends and I probably shouldn’t do that on the catwalk.”  
  
What horrible advice to give Sora.  
  
Rise just smiles and rubs her arm “Are you free tonight after the show?” she asks.  
  
Ann thinks about it, she really only has school and she can get there just fine from Rise’s apartment in Roppongi. She nods and Rise beams “Then come around tonight,” she says “Let’s watch movies and be normal girls for once.”  
  
It sounds fantastic and Ann looks up when the lights dim and the music starts to play for the first musician on the stage. Rise takes her hand and sneaks up to the curtains, peeking out as they watch Sora slowly walking out onto the middle of the stage, mic in hand.  
  
The lights are hot, glaring down at him and he somehow looks so small but when the music gets louder and he opens his mouth to sing, there’s a presence radiating from him. One that can’t be ignored, he is a singer. A true artist. His lyrics and melody flow, captivating the audience immediately even as he timidly stands in the middle of the stage.  
  
Rise hums “He may be the problem child, but he might just be a genius.”  
  
Ann notices his eyes, a little glassy but staring at one spot in the pitch dark audience and she knows he’s taken her advice. He’s thinking of someone.  
  
She wonders who he’s thinking of.  
  
* * *  
  
Akechi’s kitchen is crowded again as Futaba lays out six sheets of paper in order on the table. She pulls her computer up and points to each of them. The papers have photographs attached and all the details she could pull up. They’re the six students so far who have committed suicide on the school grounds. One every single day and Akira knows their faces without having to look, he’s memorised every single student since it started happening and he needs answers. Preferably now.  
  
“Six students, all of them have been found dead one way or another on the school grounds,” Futaba explains “First of all, it took a hell of a lot to get past Jax long enough to get these. I don’t think he realised what I was doing which is good because we don’t want the fake Phantom Thieves changing their plans on us.”  
  
“Did you manage to track Jax down?” Akechi asks from where he’s standing, leaning against the sink.  
  
Futaba shakes her head “There are limits even to my powers. One thing I have figured out is that his server pings from the main school grounds so he has access to it but he’s not actively working on the school site.”  
  
She turns back to the photos “Anyway, these students don’t have a lot in common. They’re all mostly different ages, different years, different subjects and clubs but they do have one thing in common and that is blood type.”  
  
Ryuji balks “Blood type?!”  
  
“They’re all AB positive,” Futaba explains with a nod “There aren’t many of those in this school.”  
  
Shiho looks very confused and she’s not the only one. The others are trying to wrap their heads around it too as she looks over the papers “I don’t get it,” she admits “Blood type? Of all the things...why?”  
  
“I don’t know but there are only three students left at this school with this blood type,” she glances at Ishida, who has gone quiet. Akira notices it too and Futaba lays out three more sheets on the table “The first is a second year girl by the name of Kawajima Tina. The second is a third year boy, his name is Nishizawa Ran and then there’s…” she puts the last paper down and it’s Ishida himself.  
  
Ishida is already pale and he shakes a little “They’re gonna come after me?”  
  
“No, they won’t,” Morgana assures him immediately “Because you’re always with us. They can’t get you if you’re never alone.”  
  
Shiho squeezes his shoulder “It’ll be alright,” she tells him “They won’t get you. We won’t let that happen.”  
  
“The hell it’s gonna happen,” Ryuji huffs, irritated, he folds his arms “So, what? We warn the other two? Make sure these assholes can’t get them?”  
  
“No,” Akechi butts in and there’s a moment of confusion before the brown haired detective looks up “We don’t warn them at all.”  
  
Futaba frowns “Um...Akechi…”  
  
“What the fuck?!” Ryuji snaps right away “What so we just watch them die?!”  
  
Akechi looks like he has a headache but he starts speaking slowly “If they are the next targets, that means someone is going to get them. Soon, correct? That means that if we warn them and make it impossible, we will never know who these fake Phantom Thieves are. But if we keep an eye on them, we may be able to catch the culprit behind this when they least expect it.”  
  
Ishida looks scared “What about me?” he asks in a squeaky, terrified voice “Will you let them get me?”  
  
“Of course not,” Akechi sighs, he looks like he really does have a headache now “We’re going to watch you. We’re going to watch all of them. The second the fake Phantom Thieves make their move - on any three of you - we’ll come in and take them.”  
  
Futaba looks like she’s understanding this plan “You mean, now that we know what we’re watching, we could catch them in the act?”  
  
“Precisely,” Akechi shrugs “We save a life and we find out who is behind this. Or at least catch one of them.”  
  
The room goes silent, Akira is still thinking everything over but it’s a solid plan. A risky one, but solid nonetheless. What he does know is that the suicides routinely happen at school but never on a set time. Whilst it surprises him that the school hasn’t actually shut down yet in response to these incidents, it disturbs him more that the students are starting to become desensitised to it.  
  
A few even voiced that all the suicides were a pain, an inconvenience on their otherwise peaceful lives.  
  
Ryuji sits down but he still looks like he’s going to kill someone. Preferably Akechi. Futaba looks deep in thought, Shiho has her hand on Ishida’s shoulder and Morgana looks slightly lost.  
  
“We will never let anything happen to them,” the cat says and glances around the group “...right?”  
  
“We will keep an eye on them, and move in when we notice something different,” Akechi promises “We’ll split into groups. Two each watching all three of them, including Ishida here,” he gestures to the terrified boy “We will watch them and if they are approached by anyone, then we save them before it escalates any further. The aim of this is simply to catch the guys on the other end of this - red handed.”  
  
Ishida still looks scared but he nods and Ryuji looks at him.  
  
“Kid,” he speaks “Are you sure?”  
  
“The plan is going to work,” Ishida nods “And I trust you.”  
  
Akechi nods, satisfied “We’ll have to move fast then. So far, there has been one suicide a day which means we need to have eyes on the other two tomorrow morning at the latest.”  
  
“I’ll pull up their info,” Futaba promises, her fingers already flying on the keyboard.  
  
Akira takes a deep breath and nods “Three of them then. Suzui and Futaba, keep an eye on the first year - Kawajima. Akechi and I will watch Nishizawa. Ryuji and Morgana, watch over Ishida. If anyone sees anything unusual or spots anyone approaching these three, let the rest of us know and move to stop them immediately.”  
  
He feels a headache too, but he suspects it’s not for the same reason as Akechi. He really hadn’t planned on having to deal with any of this again but now that he’s in the thick of it, it’s just as straining now as it had been last time. Perhaps even more so, because this time he can’t rely on powers in the Metaverse when his enemy is one he can’t see.  
  
“Ryuji, Morgana, Ishida, go back to Ryuji’s house for the night. Suzui, if you can clear it with your mother, stay with Futaba and Sojiro tonight. Futaba, keep an eye on Kawajima and try to catch her before she leaves her house for school tomorrow.”  
  
“Got it,” Futaba hums.  
  
Akira glances at Akechi “We’ll track down Nishizawa.”  
  
“Sae-san may be able to help us out with that,” Akechi tells him gently. As if he knows already, this day - like all the other days before - has been long and has not ended yet. They’re all tired but they can’t stop, they need to get to the bottom of this or at least find some answers.  
  
Anything.  
  
The group leave the apartment and as they do, Ryuji turns to Akira and shows a rare hue of concern in his eyes. He glances warily at Akechi and turns back to his friend “Dude, don’t get killed,” he says in his usual caring-but-being-manly-and-cool way. He pats Akira’s shoulder “I won’t forgive you if you get killed.”  
  
“I’ll try my best,” Akira promises blandly and watches as Ryuji stuffs Morgana in his bag and leads Ishida out.  
  
Futaba packs her stuff up as Shiho goes into the corner of the room to make a call. When she comes back, she takes a deep breath “My mother sounded worried, but she’s letting me do this.”  
  
Akechi looks up from where he’s leaning against the table and folds his arms “When you went to the Metaverse and met Yu, how long were you gone?”  
  
Shiho stops to think about that “About...two days at least?”  
  
“And did your mother never ask you about the bruises you had before that incident with Kamoshida?” Akechi probes and Akira kicks his leg. There’s a moment of complete vulnerability on Shiho’s face before it’s quickly pushed down with something stronger.  
  
“She did,” Shiho admits “But...she believed me when I told her it was from practice.”  
  
Which it had been...for the most part. Shiho turns her eyes to Akechi and frowns “Akechi-kun. You’re older than us. From what I remember, you were a third year when you were in Tokyo. Why are you a third year now?”  
  
Futaba pauses from where she was packing her bag, as if that thought just occurred to her too and Akechi clears his throat.  
  
“I needed to start fresh,” he tells them calmly “I needed to break my ties with my former life in Tokyo so I changed my birth date. I also needed to ensure I was in a position to help all of you.”  
  
He says that, what he really means is he wanted to be in a position to help Akira in particular.  
  
Shiho nods and Futaba finishes packing her bag.  
  
“Let’s go,” she says “Sojiro’s getting an extra futon out. I’ll track the girl down and we’ll do some stalking tomorrow.”  
  
Shiho grimaces “That sounds awful…”  
  
“Welcome to the Phantom Thieves,” Futaba beams as she pushes Shiho out the door, leaving Akechi and Akira alone in the apartment.  
  
The second the others are gone, Akechi slumps a little and takes a deep breath “Well...slow, but we’re getting somewhere,” he pulls out his phone and looks up Sae’s name “Let’s find our target. If we’re lucky, he won’t be a pain in the ass.”  
  
Akira already has a migraine but at least they’re getting somewhere now.  
  
With some luck, they’ll have their culprit - one of them at least. But he still can’t help but wonder why the shadows from the Metaverse are attacking in their world. The two are connected, but how? It’s driving him crazy and he doesn’t need to look at Akechi to know the other is thinking the same.  
  
* * *  
  
Rise’s apartment is, for lack of a better word, fantastic. Located just off Roppongi, it’s one of a line of apartment buildings complete with full security at the lobby, stationed on every floor and secure locks on every door as well as full surveillance.  
  
It doesn’t surprise Ann at all to learn that these apartment buildings are where a lot of famous people choose to live. Close to many agencies, close to work and well guarded from crazy fans and paparazzi.  
  
It’s not a bad sight either. The lights of Tokyo, as well as the view of Tokyo Tower are a vision from the wide window of Rise’s living room. Ann looks around at the lavish couch, the glass doors leading to the kitchen, the large dining table, huge television and doors that lead to an enormous bedroom, a spare room and a prettier bathroom than Ann has seen in her life.  
  
Ryuji would adore this place, she can’t help but think.  
  
“Make yourself at home,” Rise says as she heads to her room and shrugs off her jacket.  
  
“Your place is amazing,” Ann breathes in astonishment. She paces to the window and looks out at the lights of the city as she hears Rise running the tap in the bathroom.  
  
When she hears Rise coming back, she turns away from the window and Rise grins at her.  
  
“Well, I tried to live in a normal apartment but people kept breaking in all the time,” Rise explains “Or they’d come and steal my mail from the door so my agency decided it was safer here. I can’t really complain I mean...there’s a really hot idol living next door and on the other side is a comedian.”  
  
She laughs and Ann can’t help but smile. Rise gestures around the apartment and shrugs “So, what should we get up to tonight? I have junk food and movies?”  
  
It sounds better than what Ann originally had planned for the night. Which mostly consisted of sleeping off the high that fashion shows always gave her.  
  
Not for the first time, she’s glad she has a friend here.  
  
They set themselves up on the living room floor. Rise brings out an extensive amount of wine, fizzy drinks, chip packets and biscuits. “I have tofu too,” Rise offers “You might find this hard to believe but I’m really good at making tofu.”  
  
They watch movies and for the first time in a long time, Ann starts to feel normal. It’s a welcome distraction from her constant worry of her friends, particularly Akira, Ryuji and now Shiho as well. It’s frustrating that she can’t do anything about it.  
  
Being with Rise, more specifically, being with a friend who has nothing to do with the Metaverse, is quite relaxing. It puts Ann at ease not having to think about it and she wishes, more than anything, that none of this had happened again. This wasn’t part of the plan. The plan was to leave society in the supposedly capable hands of adults and yet all of this had been happening and now they were here again.  
  
Her faith in adults was wavering.  
  
They make it through some movies before Ann notices Rise’s gaze moving to the doorframe where the entranceway is. She looks over her shoulder but finds nothing there. The lights are off and she can see nothing but the darkness.  
  
She turns back to Rise and sees a new emotion in Rise’s eyes. Fear.  
  
“Are you okay?” Ann asks, thinking it’s the dark that Rise is scared of “I can turn on the lights if you want?”  
  
“No,” Rise reaches for her hand to stop her getting up “It’s okay, I just…” she glances at the doorframe again and turns her eyes back to Ann “Remember I told you awhile ago that my friends were gone?”  
  
How could Ann ever forget?  
  
She nods and Rise’s hand slips down to hold Ann’s hand. She squeezes tightly and takes a deep breath.  
  
“They were taken,” Rise explains “Someone...something took them and…” she glances at the doorframe again and Ann turns to look too but she can’t see anything.  
  
Rise shakes her head and pastes a smile on her face, it’s brave but it’s fake and that is incredibly obvious.  
  
Ann frowns “When you say ‘taken’....” she’s trying to understand this but she can’t. Rise isn’t telling her enough and all Ann can guess is that her friends were kidnapped or something. But then why hasn’t Ann heard anything about that?  
  
“Senpai was taken first,” Rise says but again, she’s being vague and Ann doesn’t understand. Rise squeezes her hands and shakes her head “They’re gone.”  
  
Her tone signals the end of it. Discussion over, she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Ann pulls her into a hug and Rise leans into her so easily, it’s as though they’re sisters. At the very least, they’re friends. Ann can’t even pretend that Rise wasn’t the kind of friend she needed just at the perfect time. She’s got a feeling Rise sought her out for the same reason.  
  
They just needed each other.  
  
“I’m glad you’re here,” Rise mumbles into Ann’s shoulder “This place scares me at night.”  
  
Ann holds her close and thinks about how much she needs her friends. How much she misses them and although Rise may not be in her group, she’s just as important to her now.  
  
* * *  
  
“Do you know why your school hasn’t shut down yet?” Sae asks when she meets Akira and Akechi late at night. She’d been let in rather easily by Akechi’s landlord, all things considered, but she still looks irritated and tired even as Akechi makes her a drink and sets her at his table.  
  
“I had wondered,” Akira admits.  
  
“Because the suicides are closed news,” Sae eyes the coffee and takes it gratefully “The media has been paid to be silent about it.”  
  
Akechi makes a face, like she just told him that all adults are going to behave like children from now on and he frowns “Why?”  
  
“Because reporting on suicides causes a wave through the public,” Sae explains “So it has been proven in some cases. Whether you believe it or not, reported suicides can sometimes cause copycat suicides. Not to mention, the investigation is still ongoing.”  
  
Akechi looks unimpressed and Akira can’t quite blame him either. In other words, nothing is being done because they’re still trying to find the cause.  
  
At this rate, Akira predicts they’ll find the cause long before the police do.  
  
Sae pulls out her laptop “You said you were looking for a student? Nishizawa Ran?”  
  
“You found him?” Akechi asks, leaning against the table “We need to keep an eye on him.”  
  
Sae suddenly looks reluctant and Akechi gets this look on his face, as if he’s seen this before. He sighs “What is it?”  
  
“I know where he is,” Sae tells them “But his circumstances are...unique. When I tried looking for him, I came up against a wall.”  
  
“Why is nothing ever simple?” Akira laments.  
  
Sae looks somewhat apologetic and turns her computer around to show them the picture of Nishizawa Ran. On his school photo, he looks somewhat average. Dark, curly hair, bright eyes, same uniform and he looks slightly bored. They can’t tell much from his photo.  
  
“Nishizawa Ran has not been at school for weeks,” Sae explains “But his grades have remained untouched. Someone is fabricating his grades, covering for him and messing with the system.”  
  
“Because that’s not suspicious at all,” Akechi drawls.  
  
“I tried to look into it and was stopped by a social worker,” Sae explains “She didn’t tell me why, she didn’t tell me what he’s doing but I did manage to track him down to a club.”  
  
She pulls out a business card and hands it to Akechi. Akira looks over to see the card is dark purple with black blurred lines. In white, shining writing it says ‘ELMORE’  
  
“A club?” Akechi flips the card in his fingers and frowns “What kind of club?”  
  
“The kind children and teenagers should not be anywhere near,” Sae looks annoyed “I tried to look into it but it’s secretive. From what I understand, it’s a host bar of sorts. A teenager like Ran should not be there but he is.”  
  
Akira takes a breath, he reaches up to take the card from Akechi and looks over it. He knows the location and it’s a pretty dodgy area. It’s where the other host clubs and sex shops are - what few there are for a town the size of this one. He hums “Well...at least we know where he is.”  
  
“If you plan on going in there to find him, don’t bother,” Sae warns them “Not only are you both underage but that club will only accept women as customers.”  
  
Both Akira and Akechi look over Sae and it takes her a moment to catch on to what they’re implying but when she realises it, she closes her laptop “Absolutely not,” she snaps.  
  
“You said so yourself,” Akechi points out “Teenage boys like us and Ran have no business being in a club like that. Only a woman like you would be able to go there. Maybe even figure out what he’s doing there.”  
  
“There is a suicide case going on and you’d have me chase up a teenage boy working in a host bar?!” Sae exclaims and Akira nods. This is important but at least with this, he knows the chances of the fake Phantom Thieves getting to Ran are slim to none. They’ve been going after students who have actually been attending school and Ran hasn’t been there in weeks.  
  
Still, it could be something to look into.  
  
“Do the social workers realise that Ran is working at this…” Akechi glances at the card “Elmore?”  
  
Sae looks annoyed “I don’t know,” she admits “I ran into a lot of walls trying to find this kid.”  
  
Akira glances at Akechi and shakes his head. The fake Phantom Thieves aren’t likely to get Ran if he’s not available for them to find. Still, it could be something to look into. The fact that there is a third year being protected by social workers and not attending school yet his grades are being created….all of it sounds dodgy to Akira.  
  
“I don’t like the look of any of this but the fact of the matter is that there are deaths happening at your school and we’ve yet to find any possible lead,” Sae tells them “I realise it sounds like an excuse but it’s the truth. There are also two problems with this case, the first is that they are suicides and so the police are looking internally - health problems and such. The second is that if there is someone behind this-”  
  
“There is,” Akira and Akechi insist at the same time.  
  
“-then they’ve been very careful not to leave behind clues,” Sae finished.  
  
“Futaba figured out that the one thing the students had in common was their blood type,” Akechi tells her “Does that help at all?”  
  
“Not really, the police already figured that out,” Sae admits “And this is why you’re looking for Nishizawa Ran, is it not? Because he is AB positive.”  
  
“One of the three left in the school, yes,” Akira frowns. If the police already know this, then why aren’t they keeping an eye on the remaining students?  
  
“The trouble with this case is that whilst the police admit it is unusual and disturbing, they are suicides,” Sae tells them, stressing the word ‘suicide’. “There is a stigma in this country - more so than most - that suicides are swept under the rug. Whilst it is unusual to have so many in one school, they’re still suicides. The police are looking at mental health problems, possible abuse in homes but you have to understand that there are so many suicides in this country, the police can’t look into them all.”  
  
“There have never been suicides in a school - at least not so many within a week,” Akechi points out.  
  
“That is the only reason why this is not being ignored,” Sae replies as gently as she can “But the longer this goes on with more deaths and no results, the more frustrated the police are getting. It feels a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack. We know there’s a reason, we just can’t figure it out.”  
  
Neither can they but Akira has a feeling they’re probably closer than the police are.  
  
Sae looks at him, apologetic and even guilty “Kurusu-kun,” she says “I know I promised to leave this to the adults. I’m sorry, at this rate, we’re letting you all down.”  
  
Akira shakes his head and Akechi sighs “Well,” he comments “On the positive side, at least we’re getting somewhere. Slowly, but we’re getting somewhere.”  
  
Akira’s head is full of things. Of Minato warning him not to trust anyone, of Igor telling him something unknown and powerful opened up the Metaverse again. He can’t stop thinking about the suicides, about the fact that half his team is in Tokyo and the other half is here. He sees Ryuji’s frustration and fury about the fact that they’re fighting blind, he sees Shiho’s barely contained sorrow for the boy none of them had ever met. Ishida’s fearful face flashes past his mind and Morgana, bless the cat, is frustrated but silent.  
  
He looks at Akechi and remembers Minato had warned him this week would be harder for everyone and a horrible gut feeling in his stomach tells him he hasn’t even come across the worst of it yet. The worst is still yet to come.  
  
* * *  
  
Morgana jumps up onto the end of Ryuji’s bed and curls up. He watches Ryuji laying out the extra mattress on the floor and flicks his tail in annoyance.  
  
“Ryuji,” he growls “I hope you’re getting better at sleeping. Because I don’t wanna be tossed around like last time.”  
  
“Shut up,” Ryuji mutters back as he pulls the blankets over the mattress “You’re just lucky my ma likes cats otherwise you’d be sleeping outside.”  
  
Ishida, who is sitting at Ryuji’s desk, blinks at the two of them and tilts his head “Do you have trouble sleeping, Ryuji?”  
  
“You shut up too,” Ryuji growls. Internally he’s groaning. He already has trouble with sticky dreams about Yusuke and Ann (one horrifying dream had Yusuke’s head but Ann’s body and Ryuji spent the entire day trying to get that image out of his head) but having to deal with both Morgana and Ishida at the same time...Ryuji fears they’ll figure it out.  
  
“I’m not getting used to this,” Morgana complains “I spent all of last year and some of this year sleeping on Akira’s bed. He sleeps like the dead and that works for me. Ever since Akechi came back, I’ve been sleeping on everything BUT Akira’s bed.”  
  
“Things have been changing,” Ryuji fixes the blankets tightly around the corners and gets up to sit on his bed “There you go, kid.”  
  
“Thank you,” Ishida pads over to the mattress. He sits down and looks up at Ryuji “You know, when I asked Mishima about you guys, Mishima could only tell me so much.”  
  
Ryuji picks at his sheets and sighs “Well yeah, he wasn’t really one of our inner circle. Just a big fanboy.”  
  
“But a loyal one,” Morgana adds with a pointed look at Ryuji “We would have gotten nowhere without him. It was only through his support and his enabling other people to support us too that we had jobs in Mementos and proof that people believed in us right until the end.”  
  
Ryuji could point out that there was a time when no one believed them but that would end in an argument that would end up pointless anyway.  
  
“Back to what I said before though,” Morgana huffs and curls up at the end of Ryuji’s bed “What’s wrong with our leader? I know he’s being cautious but why is he making me sleep here instead of with him like I usually do?”  
  
Ishida looks really confused for a moment and Ryuji stops to think about it. He hadn’t noticed before, because he was a little busy being worried about everything else that was happening but Morgana is bringing up a good point. Akira hasn’t been as approachable as before. He’s still Ryuji’s friend, without a shadow of a doubt, but there’s something else. Something new that Ryuji hadn’t noticed was there but it was getting more and more obvious with each time he had to take Morgana in.  
  
“You…” Ishida blinks “Do you really not know? Didn’t you notice?”  
  
Ryuji frowns “Notice what?”  
  
“I...really?” Ishida looks between Morgana and Ryuji “Really? He didn’t tell you guys?”  
  
“Tell us what?” Ryuji asks, a little more irritated at the idea that Ishida - the newbie - knows something about his best friend that he doesn’t know. That’s definitely breaking some sort of best friend/bro rule.  
  
“He’s with Akechi,” Ishida points out quietly “I thought you...I kind of thought you knew already.”  
  
There’s a beat and Morgana starts laughing first. Ryuji follows. The idea is ridiculous to him. He knows Akechi has been through a lot of shit but when in the space of him miraculously coming back to life, to them being challenged by a fake group of lethal Phantom Thieves, did Akechi and Akira start dating? When did Akira even show signs of liking Akechi - guys altogether - in that way?  
  
Ishida’s imagination ran away with him again.  
  
“That’s ridiculous!” Morgana howls with laughter, he’s having fits on the end of the bed and Ryuji’s not much better, he’s losing it on his side and the only one who isn’t laughing is Ishida, who looks really, really confused.  
  
“It would never happen,” Morgana gasps once he’s recovered, he curls up “Oww my stomach hurts now.”  
  
“Same,” Ryuji rubs tears from his eyes and leans back on the wall “I’ll admit Akira’s been a little weird lately but that can’t be it.”  
  
Ishida clears his throat awkwardly “I um...I thought it was obvious,” he mumbles, his face a little red “I mean….the way he looks at Akechi for starters.”  
  
“He’s our leader,” Ryuji points out “He and Akechi have a...weird history. Akechi tried to kill us all and yeah, his head was in the wrong space and he saved us in the end but still, that’s...no...that can’t be why he’s been weird.”  
  
Ishida still looks confused, though now it’s more because he’s realising Ryuji and Morgana really don’t see it at all. Or that they don’t want to.  
  
“Anyway,” Ryuji waves the subject off “Whatever’s going on, when we’re not being attacked by weird shadow things, things should get back to normal and you’ll be bugging Akira instead,” he nudges the cat “You can be his problem, tell him when to go to bed.”  
  
Morgana purrs at the thought and Ishida raises an eyebrow at them both.  
  
They eventually go to sleep after talking a little longer. Ishida curls up on his mattress, Morgana takes up the bottom of the bed and Ryuji forces himself to close his eyes and not think about blue hair.  
  
He almost manages it too. But when as he dreams, somewhere near four in the morning, Ryuji dreams of blue hair, of moans from a voice he never thought he’d want to hear moaning. He dreams of hands, stained with little paint splotches, delicate and long, running along his skin, setting him on fire.  
  
Yusuke’s face is covered by his fox mask and all Ryuji wants to do is take it off. He wants to see his face, he wants to see his eyes. He wants to lean in and kiss him but Yusuke keeps leaning away from him, teasingly, with that same stupid smug smile under his mask.  
  
“Come here,” Ryuji begs, he doesn’t know why but he can’t just sit up and grab the other, something is keeping him down on the bed and Yusuke is frustratingly out of his reach.  
  
“Yusuke,” Ryuji whines and Yusuke’s fingers lace with his outstretched ones. He leans in a little closer and Ryuji can’t get closer. Something heavy is on his chest, pinning him effectively down on the bed, stopping him from leaning up and grabbing Yusuke himself.  
  
Fuck, he really wants him. Ryuji suddenly wants all of him, he wants Yusuke’s weight on his body, he wants his kisses, he wants to touch him, to get him off…  
  
Yusuke smiles under the mask, he reaches a hand up to take his mask off and Ryuji really wants him to. He wants to see him. He needs to see that face that’s been torturing him almost every single night now.  
  
But when the mask comes off, the blue hair disappears and long strands of blonde fall in Ryuji’s face instead. The mask is removed and it’s not Yusuke’s face at all, it’s Ann. She watches him, eyes unreadable for a moment before the dream changes and it’s not arousing at all. It’s dark and Ann looks...scared somehow.  
  
“Ryuji!” Ann screams.  
  
It wakes him up. Ryuji gasps as his eyes open and he realises the weight on his chest, the one pinning him down to the bed, was Morgana sleeping on his chest.  
  
“Ugh!” Ryuji pushes Morgana off him, earning a hiss and a sleepy whine from the cat as it falls onto the floor instead. Ryuji sits up and rubs at his face.  
  
“You are the worst person to sleep with!” Morgana snaps at him as he climbs back up onto the bed. The commotion woke Ishida, who is sitting up on his mattress and watching Ryuji as he covers his face with his hands.  
  
“Are you okay?” Ishida asks.  
  
No. No Ryuji is not okay. Morgana grumbles to himself and curls up as Ryuji gets out of bed and heads out to the bathroom. He closes the door quietly behind himself, flicks on the lights and goes to the sink to splash water on his face.  
  
This is not cool. Not in any way. First he dreams about Yusuke, then about Ann and he’s not even sure what his head or heart are trying to tell him here. He gets aroused for both of them (Yusuke more than Ann but Ryuji would rather kiss Morgana than admit that to himself).  
  
He leans against the sink and closes his eyes. He’s tired, he’s confused and he still feels the same lingering fear and worry after seeing Ann like that. Is something wrong?  
  
Even if there is, Ryuji reminds himself as he sees the clock on the wall, it’s three in the morning and too early to check.  
  
There’s a soft knock on the door and Ryuji hears Ishida’s quiet voice on the other end.  
  
“Ryuji, are you okay?” the boy asks “Did you need something?”  
  
A new brain. A new heart. Ryuji looks down and shakes his head. He wouldn’t mind getting a less excited dick too.  
  
“I’m fine,” he calls back “Go back to sleep, kid.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Ishida asks and Ryuji looks down at the tent in his pants. If he’s going to take care of this at all, he’d rather Ishida didn’t hear him.  
  
“Yeah I’m fine,” Ryuji assures him and when he’s certain he heard Ishida walking back to his room, Ryuji takes a deep breath and reaches down to palm himself. A tiny pinprick of pleasure shoots through him and Ryuji closes his eyes.  
  
This is kind of pathetic. Jerking off almost every single night in the bathroom because he keeps dreaming about Kitagawa Yusuke and Takamaki Ann but he doesn’t know what else to do. A cold shower isn’t an option because the water pipes might wake his mother and he’d rather do anything but walk back into his room with a hard on and have to answer questions from Morgana and Ishida.  
  
If he could only sleep alone in his room, he wouldn’t have this problem. He’d be able to rub one off under the blankets like a normal teenage boy.  
  
He sighs and slips his hand under his waistband. Yusuke wanders into his mind automatically and Ryuji doesn’t even try fighting it this time. He’s tried thinking about Ann and it’s only half successful, Yusuke on the other hand…  
  
Ryuji doesn’t know why his body seems to want the artist and he doesn’t want to look into it. As far as he’s concerned, this is just a thing his body does and Yusuke is never going to find out about it. No one is going to find out about it. It makes Ryuji feel kind of like a creep but it’s better than facing the reality that he’s lusting after Yusuke.  
  
He doesn’t think he’ll ever be brave enough to face that head on.  
  
* * *  
  
It’s just past three in the morning when Ann feels Rise leave the bed. They’d fallen asleep on Rise’s enormous king sized bed. Three more movies and too much junk food had lulled the two into a better mood than they were before and they’d even fallen asleep giggling.  
  
Ann hears the bed move a bit and cracks an eye open. She watches through the darkness as the outline of Rise’s body wanders to the bathroom and there’s a momentary flood of light as she flicks the bathroom light on and closes the door behind herself to leave Ann in the dark bedroom.  
  
Ann rolls onto her back and yawns. Out of habit, she grabs her phone and has to blink to adjust her eyes to the light of her phone as she checks the time.  
  
There’s a little popup notification in the corner of her phone. She gets past the security pin and goes into the chat app to see Yusuke had messaged her last night, sometime near midnight. She hadn’t heard the notification go off.  
  
**Yusuke:** I saw your fashion show. They showed it on TV. The outfit you wore was aesthetically pleasing but whoever designed it has no eye for colours. Fire them.  
  
Ann snorts. She checks the time and taps in a reply for the hell of it. If she leaves the message, she’s likely to forget Yusuke messaged at all. He’ll see a ‘read’ notification but no reply.  
  
**Ann:** And if I told you I picked out the colours? :(  
  
To her surprise, Yusuke replies almost immediately.  
  
**Yusuke:** Then you need better eyes.  
  
Ann laughs despite herself. She sits up in bed and glances at the light under the bathroom door before turning back to her phone.  
  
**Ann:** Why are you still awake?  
  
**Yusuke:** I could ask you the same.  
  
**Ann:** I’ll go back to sleep soon. Just woke up for no reason.  
  
**Yusuke:** I can’t sleep.  
  
**Ann:** Why not?  
  
**Yusuke:** Dreams.  
  
She wants to press it, ask him what dreams but she knows better. He’s not going to tell her. Yusuke is blunt and honest in some aspects, but closed off in others and if he doesn’t bring it up first, he’s not likely to talk about it, even if he’s pressed.  
  
**Ann:** I get nightmares sometimes too. Try warm milk.  
  
**Yusuke:** They’re good dreams.  
  
Ann frowns but before she can reply, Yusuke sends another message.  
  
**Yusuke:** Too good.  
  
Now he’s being vague and Ann knows him well enough to know he’s probably not doing it on purpose. She’s about to reply when she hears a noise coming from the bathroom. The smallest thud and for a moment, she thinks Rise probably just dropped something in there.  
  
But then she looks at the door and sees a dark shadow blocking out most of the light. She thinks it’s Rise at first but when she hears Rise make a small noise, a whimper, Ann sits bolt upright. Senses alert as she realises how cold it is. The room is freezing all of a sudden.  
  
“Rise?” she calls.  
  
There’s another noise, a small crash and she hears Rise breathing. Panting. Ann gets out of bed and winces when her bare feet hit the wooden floor. It’s so cold. Everything is cold. Ann pulls her robe tighter over herself and pads over to the bathroom door. She tries the knob but it’s locked. She knocks and she can only hear Rise breathing.  
  
“Rise?” she tries again, this time a little louder.  
  
Rise’s breathing gets faster. She whimpers and Ann slams her hand into the door, something’s wrong, something is terribly wrong and the ice in the air only chills Ann to the bone, scares her and sucks all the hope from her. Something is really wrong.  
  
“Rise!” she screams and bangs on the door “Rise!”  
  
Rise’s whimpering, panting breaths stop and Ann freezes. She tries the knob again but it’s locked, the metal is freezing to the touch.  
  
Rise’s voice, quiet and terrified, breaks the silence for just a moment.  
  
“ _Senpai_ ,” she says, her voice both fearful and awe-stuck.  
  
There’s a loud whooshing sound and Ann hears the door click just as heat returns to the air. She pushes the door open and looks into the bathroom but there’s nothing there. The light is on, the tap is dripping, Rise’s phone is on the counter but Rise is gone.  
  
* * *  
  
Akechi wakes up when he realises his bed is cold. He sits up and when his brain registers that it’s still dark, he checks his phone to see the dim light reads 4:50 in the morning. Akechi glances at the spot next to him on the bed but finds only a dent in the pillow and mattress, the culprit responsible for them is gone.  
  
“Akira?” he calls sleepily. He sees the light under his bedroom door and yawns as he climbs out of bed and pads over to the kitchen, where the light is coming from. He spots Akira sitting at the table, a cup of coffee steaming away in his hands and hums.  
  
“Did I wake you?” Akira asks, his fingers still tapping lightly on the mug.  
  
“I can’t seem to sleep properly without you so...maybe,” Akechi shrugs and wanders around him to the coffee pot where there is still some left. He pours himself a drink and wanders back to the table to sit next to Akira “You alright?”  
  
Akira stays silent a moment longer. He bites his lip and shakes his head slowly.  
  
“I think I need to tell you about Minato,” he mutters and Akechi watches him, slightly confused.  
  
“Minato?”  
  
Akira takes a deep breath and explains, clearly and logically, about this other boy. The one on the train who gives him cryptic messages, who pulls him out of the Velvet room and shoots himself in the head whenever they’re done talking. He tells Akechi about the last thing Minato said to him, about this week and how it’s going to be hard and when he’s done, Akechi is kind of just sitting there, mulling over what he’s been told.  
  
His coffee isn’t hot anymore.  
  
“Okay,” Akechi says after a moment “That….wasn’t what I was expecting to hear from you at five in the morning.”  
  
Akira takes a sip of his coffee and makes a face when he realises it’s cold now. He puts the mug down and sighs “I’m never going to have an uninterrupted sleep ever again.”  
  
“Probably not,” Akechi mutters “But then neither will I.”  
  
They both sigh. The same weight settling on their shoulders as they realise the massive amount of shit they’re in. Both push their cold coffee away and Akira shakes his head.  
  
“What if we can’t catch them?” he asks.  
  
Akechi gives him a look “It’s not like you to doubt before you even try,” he points out “At least be a little optimistic about our plan.”  
  
Akira turns to look at him and then, without missing a single beat, smiles and sits up “We’re completely and utterly fucked,” he says in an uncharacteristically happy tone before dropping it immediately and slumping again.  
  
Akechi smiles. He wants to disagree, wants to point out that they at least know where the fake Phantom Thieves might strike next but even that, he knows, is a shot in the dark that could go so heinously wrong it’s not even funny. He likes that Akira doesn’t show this side of him to the others. He only seems comfortable enough to show this side in front of Akechi.  
  
“So what’s the plan then,” Akira rubs at his face and leans back in his chair “We keep an eye on Nishizawa - if he even comes to school. Suzui and Futaba watch the first year, Ryuji keeps an eye on Ishida and if anything happens, we call each other and try to catch whoever’s doing this.”  
  
“That’s the plan in a nutshell yes,” Akechi nods “And if I knew what we were up against, we’d have a better plan but the fact of the matter is that whoever is behind this, has got us.”  
  
Akira can’t stop thinking about what Minato said. The hardest week. This will be the hardest week. He feels the early onset of failure creeping up on him and it’s unnerving him that he seems able to predict this is going to go horribly wrong before the day has even begun.  
  
“If Nishizawa isn’t in school, then I’ll help Ryuji keep an eye on Ishida. You help Suzui and Futaba,” Akira hums “One way or another, if they make their move, we might be able to catch them.”  
  
He tries to sound more optimistic than he feels but it’s like Minato cursed him into thinking this is going to go wrong. No matter what he does, this is going to go horribly wrong.  
  
He gets up and puts the half empty mugs in the sink. Akechi follows him and when Akira’s got his back to him, he comes up behind him and wraps his arms around his middle. Akira stiffens for a moment but relaxes when Akechi rests his chin on Akira’s shoulder, snuggling into his back properly.  
  
Akira takes a deep breath and Akechi smiles.  
  
“All this stress and you haven’t been doing what normal teenagers do at all,” Akechi points out “No wonder people think we’re weird.”  
  
“People think I’m weird,” Akira corrects him as he leans back into Akechi “They think you’re an idol, or have you not noticed the girls who leave notes in your desk?”  
  
“I’ve noticed your poor attempts at covering your jealousy,” Akechi grins and Akira fights the urge to smack him.  
  
“Some people are just born more perfect,” Akechi says, putting on a fake, pompous voice as he flicks his hair and this time Akira really does smack him. Akechi just laughs and turns Akira around in his arms so they’re facing each other instead.  
  
Akira looks at him and the twist in his chest makes so much more sense when he links it to Akechi. The other just...does things to his mind and Akira doesn’t exactly mind it either.  
  
“So what are normal teenagers supposed to do anyway?” he asks, hands holding Akechi’s arms on instinct.  
  
Akechi hums, pretending he has no idea before he leans in to catch Akira’s lips. Akira’s eyes close automatically and it’s actually a blissful distraction from the mess that is his brain right now. His mind shuts off and Akechi feels so nice against him that Akira finds his worries, whilst still there, are now on a shelf for him to think about later.  
  
“You need to stop thinking,” Akechi points out, voice a low and surprisingly sexy murmur as he starts kissing down Akira’s neck. The feeling is so shocking and wonderful at the same time that all Akira can do is tilt his head aside to give him more space.  
  
“Pot. Kettle. Black,” Akira points out, his voice a little weaker than he wants it to be.  
  
Akechi’s laugh is a low rumble that somehow manages to hit Akira in the gut and his grip on Akechi’s arms gets tighter when he realises it’s not just Akechi’s presence that does things to him, his fucking voice does other things to him too.  
  
“Forget about what Minato said,” Akechi murmurs and Akira almost doesn’t hear what he says at all. He’s focussed on that tone of his voice, the low murmur of Akechi’s voice that’s robbing Akira of his precious control.  
  
He’s not entirely sure he’s a fan of Akechi surprising him like this. He hadn’t seen it coming at all but his body doesn’t seem to mind it one bit.  
  
Akechi’s hand is low on his stomach before Akira even realised he’d moved it there. He presses on the base of Akira’s stomach and Akira wants to fight back somehow. Repay the favour somehow but he’s weak to everything Akechi does.  
  
Akechi chuckles - and there’s that fucking laugh again - as he presses Akira into the bench and slips his hand a little further down. Torturingly close to his overexcited crotch.  
  
Akira, by now, is kind of helpless. He wants to touch back, to kiss but he can’t because Akechi’s mouth is hot on his neck, licking and biting and generally robbing Akira of his ability to breathe properly. He feels, rather than sees, Akechi looking down for a moment before his hand finally touches the bulge in Akira’s pants, earning himself a surprised sounding gasp.  
  
“Is this okay?” Akechi asks and it’s typical Akechi behaviour. To finally be courteous and polite when his hand is literally one fabric cloth away from wrapping around Akira’s dick.  
  
Akira can’t manage words. He can’t remember Japanese at all. He nods and Akechi’s hand is really warm under his pants. He presses his body up against the bench, kisses more demanding on Akira’s neck as his hand finally wraps around Akira, stroking and making the other let out noises he’d never let the others hear.  
  
“Shit,” Akechi breathes against his neck, his hand strokes a little faster and Akira bites his lip. He’s embarrassingly close and he’s never going to admit that it was Akechi’s voice that did it.  
  
Akira turns his head, he kisses Akechi’s lips and it’s not until he moves his leg that he realises the other is just as hard. He’s shaking. Akechi lets out a small, choking sound and his hand moves faster on Akira. Akira tries to return the favour, tries to get into Akechi’s pants but the other won’t lean his body back, he’s pressing Akira hard against the bench until Akira’s leg slides between Akechi’s and he can feel Akechi’s hardness against his thigh.  
  
Akira can’t focus. He can’t think. Everything Akechi’s doing is robbing him of all coherent thought and all he really can focus on is how good this feels and how much he didn’t realise he’d needed this. Needed him.  
  
He’s not going to last. Akechi’s hand is soft and fast and Akira can only hold on, kiss him harder, swallow Akechi’s moans as well as his own. Akira bites Akechi’s bottom lip, his entire body stiffening as he loses it against the other with a barely restrained gasp.  
  
He pants, he’s sweaty and hot. Akira opens his eyes and belatedly realises Akechi’s been humping against his thigh because Akechi hides his face in Akira’s shoulder, groaning as his entire body goes stiff and relaxes when release sets him free.  
  
They stand there for a couple of moments, both of them leaning against the bench and trying to catch their breaths. The hard bench is actually really uncomfortable against Akira’s back but Akechi is leaning so heavily against him that he can’t move from it.  
  
“Well…” Akechi sighs when he can finally breathe  enough to talk “That was one way to distract you.”  
  
Akira hits his shoulder, weak and spent because of what Akechi just did to him. He laughs and shakes his head “Now we need a shower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, long gap between posts this time was due to a lot of things. Mainly dizzy spells coming out of nowhere (and I have no desire to check out what the Japanese health system is like whilst I'm here so I'm just waiting for it to pass)  
> Anyway, punched this out of my head at last! It feels more like a filler chapter, setting up for later stuff but the build up is always important. Plus you know, Akechi and Akira actually doing shit that boyfriends do instead of constantly fretting over the shit building up around them.  
> Ah hormones! Poor Ryuji.


	10. End of the Week

One of Akechi’s earliest memories is of sakura leaves. He’d been young, possibly too young to begin school. He remembers holding his mothers’ hand as they walked along the footpath. A line of sakura trees had blossomed in season and were raining soft pink petals down on the streets.   
  
Akechi remembers his yellow jacket, yellow gumboots and someone commenting that his mother had no sense of style in how she dressed her kid.   
  
Whether his mother was paying any attention to the leaves, he can’t remember. All he remembers is walking along with her, trying to keep up with her pace because she wasn’t stopping for the leaves and her legs were much longer than his little ones. He remembers reaching out the hand that wasn’t holding hers, watching as the pink petals fell into his tiny palm.   
  
“Goro,” his mother says, impatiently tugging on his hand as if that will make him walk any faster.   
  
He doesn’t remember much else from that day. Childhood flashes of memories come in short but clear spurts. Like scenes from a movie before someone skips to the next one. But the memories he has are clear enough. The sakura leaves, the scent of his mother’s hair when she finally gave up and picked him up so she could walk faster.   
  
What he does remember is waking up one morning, long after the sakura leaves had stopped falling. He remembers climbing down the stairs sleepily and wondering, briefly, why no one had woken him up as usual. He remembers being far too small to reach the handle of the kitchen door but that it didn’t matter because the door was already ajar.   
  
He remembers pushing the wood of the door open and seeing his mother on the floor. At first he thinks she’s sleeping. It’s a weird place to sleep but Akechi isn’t old enough to judge. He remembers wandering over to her and trying to wake her up, pushing on her shoulders and calling her name.   
  
She doesn’t wake up and Akechi doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know what’s going on.   
  
It’s not until years later that he realises the white things he’d seen on the counter were pills and the reason why she never woke up was because she was dead.   
  
* * *   
  
**4/28 - Thursday**   
  
Akechi looks up when the bathroom door opens. He’d been leaning against the kitchen table, cold coffee in hand and listening to the running water in the bathroom when his memories had caught up to him.   
  
They’re not painful enough to ache. He’d been too young to understand anything back then but once he realised what had happened and why he’d been taken away, the realisation that his mother had killed herself left him with too many questions.   
  
Why? He was old enough now to realise she’d been depressed. He could remember watching her cry and not understanding why but still, she had left him. What if his aunt hadn’t come over and found them? What if nobody had come and found them there on the kitchen floor? What if Akechi had starved to death, not knowing what to do? Had his mother thought about any of those things before she’d decided to kill herself? Had she thought about him at all?   
  
He watches Akira step out of the bathroom, hair damp and school uniform slightly askew. Akira puts the damp towel in the washing basket and blinks at Akechi.   
  
“You alright?” he asks.   
  
“Yeah,” Akechi smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He takes a sip of his coffee and scrunches his nose when the cold liquid slides down his throat.   
  
He puts the mug down and sighs “We should get going,” he says “Sakamoto messaged earlier, he said he’s got his eye on Ishida. We should check for our guy, make sure he’s not in danger wherever he is. If the fake phantom thieves target any of them, we’ll be ready.”   
  
He feels, rather than hears, Akira approaching him and looks up when the boy is right in front of him. Akira places his hands on Akechi’s shoulders and it’s both comforting and terrifying how well Akira can read him. He feels like he can’t hide anything from Akira, the other sees through him as though he’s made of glass.   
  
“Goro,” Akira speaks “It’s just me. Don’t shut me out.”   
  
“I’m not shutting you out,” Akechi sighs “I’m not, I just...don’t wanna talk about it.”   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow and Akechi reaches up to push Akira’s hands off his shoulders so he can move to get his schoolbag and pretend his thoughts are still private. Pretend Akira can’t see it all over his face.   
  
“We need to go,” Akechi mutters and throws his bag over his shoulder as he makes for the door “Come on.”   
  
Akira watches him leave but lets the subject go as he follows him out.   
  
* * *   
  
The police are already surrounding the building by the time Yusuke’s taxi turns up on the corner of the street. He digs into his wallet and hands over the last of his money for the month before heading out of the taxi and jogging over to the tape keeping the general public out. There are lots of people standing around, most of them confused and no one knows anything. All they know is that something happened to Rise and that’s why the police are there.   
  
Yusuke stands near the tape and spots Ann as she’s being questioned by a policewoman. He waves his arm and when she sees him, her face shows such immense relief. She has a thin, brown blanket draped over her shoulders and her hair is still a mess but she minds none of that as she gets up, crosses over to the tape and pulls Yusuke into a hug. He stiffens under her hold for a moment before his arms gently come up to hold her and she’s shaking. He pulls the blanket tighter around her and looks at her face, she’s still crying.   
  
“Rise,” Ann sniffs “I-I don’t know what happened…”   
  
“Ms Takamaki,” the policewoman from earlier approaches her “I’m afraid we’re going to need you to come to the station to explain what happened.”   
  
Ann looks scared and Yusuke can’t really blame her. From what little he knows, Rise disappeared and nothing logical had caused it. Ann didn’t tell him much and when she’d called, she’d been so terrified and unintelligible that he really only got the gist that she’d disappeared but already he could see Ann’s fears. If Rise’s disappearance could not be explained, then they’d go to the most logical conclusion. Since Ann was the only person in the apartment at the time, the blame could be shifted to her.   
  
“I need him with me,” Ann insists, her hand grasping Yusuke’s tightly.   
  
The policewoman eyes Yusuke for a moment and turns to Ann “Is he your boyfriend?”   
  
Yusuke wonders how that even matters but for the sake of making this easier, Ann nods and the policewoman sighs “Fine. He can come along then.”   
  
She lets Yusuke in through the tape and leads the way back to the police car. Ann follows and looks up at the building. There are detectives in Rise’s apartment. They’re dusting every surface down, looking for prints, for any clue as to how this happened. But Ann can still feel the cold. Whatever that thing was, that thing that took Rise away, it hadn’t been human which could only mean it was likely from the Metaverse.   
  
But how is that possible? Metaverse shadows usually stay in the Metaverse.   
  
Don’t they?   
  
* * *   
  
Akira picks at his desk and glances at Ishida a few rows ahead. There’s a math lesson going on but he’s not paying attention as he feels Morgana’s warmth in his desk, curled up near his stomach.   
  
“Any sign of your guy?” Morgana asks, his tail flicking slightly against Akira’s stomach as always.   
  
Akira shakes his head and glances at Shiho. Her head is down and whilst she appears to be taking notes on the lecture, Akira can see the gentle glow of her cell phone hidden under the textbook.   
  
Ran aside, there are only two AB students in the school. Ishida and the second year girl, Tina, who is in Futaba’s class. They all have their missions, Shiho and Futaba are to keep an eye on Tina and the rest are watching Ishida. If the fake phantom thieves make their move, they’ll know.   
  
Akira only hopes they stick to their MO of targeting by bloodtype.   
  
“Kurusu,” the teacher barks and Akira looks up to see his irritated face. Unlike the homeroom teacher, Kojima, this guy is a lot less patient and Akira can already feel the murderous intent coming from the man.   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow and the teacher points to the equation he’d left on the blackboard “What was I saying not ten seconds ago?”   
  
Akira glances at the board but he wasn’t paying attention. He has no idea what the man was saying.   
  
He sees the chalk coming and dodges to the right. The chalk piece flies past him and hits Akechi in the face instead.   
  
“Ow!” Akechi hisses.   
  
The teacher huffs and straightens himself again “Well….you weren’t paying attention either.”   
  
Akira glances back at the brown haired boy, offering a small grin in apology. Akechi shakes his head and pockets the chalk piece but for a moment, just a moment, the warmest look comes over his face as he smiles at Akira. His eyes soften, the smile on his face is warm and for just a moment, his emotion is bare and real on his face. Then it’s gone, concealed behind his mask and Akira turns his attention back to the front of the class.   
  
Neither of them notice that Ryuji had been watching them both.   
  
When the break is called, Shiho dutifully leaves the classroom to check on the second year classes downstairs. The plan is that she simply keeps her distance and keeps an eye on Tina at all times. Their plan is that they maintain a distance from Ishida but keep him in their sight.   
  
Ryuji comes up and plops himself down on Akira’s desk as the rest of the class are doing their own thing for the break. Most of them going out for air, some getting food from their bags or vending machines, most sitting in groups and talking. Akira looks up and the blonde boy grins at him.   
  
“You look tired,” Akira points out.   
  
“So he should be!” Morgana’s voice grumbles from the desk “He’s a terrible bedmate!”   
  
“Shut it,” Ryuji whacks the desk, making the cat hiss “No one told you to sleep on my chest and nearly suffocate me.”   
  
“Next time, I’ll claw your eyes!” Morgana threatens.   
  
“So nice to see you two getting along,” Akechi drawls from where he sits at his desk behind Akira “Let me know when the wedding is.”   
  
Ryuji flips him off and Akira grins. He watches Ryuji “What’s going on? You’re not usually one who has trouble sleeping.”   
  
Ryuji suddenly looks very tired, he shakes his head “I dunno dude. I’m getting...weird dreams.”   
  
“Yeah, he moans in his sleep,” Morgana grumbles and Ryuji whacks the desk again.   
  
“Go back to licking your butt,” Ryuji growls, he folds his arms “I dunno dude, I’m just getting weird dreams all the time. Maybe it’s got a lot to do with what’s going on, I mean...this shit was supposed to end last year. We nearly died for it and look, we’re back in this shit again.”   
  
Akira can understand him there at least. They’re right back where they were not supposed to be. He knows it’s not Sae’s fault but some small part of him wants to blame her for failing when she’d promised the adults would take care of this.   
  
Clearly, the adults can’t take care of shit.   
  
“With any luck,” Akechi speaks up “We’ll catch whoever is behind this. If they stick to their M.O., they’ll make a move.”   
  
The three of them glance at Ishida who is still in his seat. Akira notes the hunch of his shoulders that betray how scared he is but other than that, he doesn’t move. He turns his eyes back to Ryuji, who hums a little under his breath.   
  
Akira feels a smile tug at his lips. For all Ryuji’s complaints about Ishida at the beginning of all of this, how he found the kid annoying and too much like Mishima, he suspects Ryuji has a soft spot for Ishida after all. It doesn’t surprise him, Ryuji is kinder than he lets on sometimes, but he can almost see Ryuji taking on an older brother sort of role.   
  
“Dude when this is all over, we should go back to Tokyo and finally have a welcome party for Suzui and the kid there,” Ryuji nods to Ishida’s back.   
  
Morgana huffs “You’re just looking for an excuse for food….though it would be nice to see Lady Ann again.”   
  
Ryuji twitches a bit at the mention of Ann but Akira knows better than to press it. He knows Ryuji’s been getting dreams, he doesn’t quite know that Yusuke has been in those dreams too, nor is he aware of Ryuji’s current crisis in his head.   
  
“We should see the others,” Akira agrees quietly. He knows it’s dangerous here but there’s something weird about not being able to see about half the group. He knew it was always going to be this way (and admittedly it would have been so much worse had Ryuji not come with him) but still, one visit would actually be nice.   
  
Even if only to get away from the frustrating situation here.   
  
The boys look down when their phones buzz at the same time. Akira notices Ishida pulling out his phone as well as they all see a message from Shiho.   
  
**Shiho:** _Rooftop. Hurry._   
  
Ryuji pales and he’s the first one out of the room. Ishida, Akechi and Akira follow quickly, sprinting up the stairs, dashing past students and ignoring the sign telling them not to go onto the rooftop as Ryuji kicks the door open and rushes out into the open air.   
  
They stop in their tracks upon the sight that greets them. Tina, the girl Futaba and Shiho had been assigned to watch, is standing on the edge of the rooftop, staring down at the courtyard below as Futaba is standing a little bit behind her, trying to talk her down.   
  
“Tina,” Futaba tries “Whatever it is, you don’t have to do this.”   
  
Tina shakes her head and Akira can’t help but think back to when he’d seen Shiho in this very same position. Standing on the edge, staring down to god knows what. Death? Freedom? He couldn’t understand what Shiho had seen and he doesn’t know what Tina is seeing but something feels off. Something is different. When Shiho had done this, Akira had seen - just for a moment - the look of fear and hesitation in her eyes.   
  
The dead giveaway that she didn’t really want to do this, but she’d felt she had no other choice.   
  
That look isn’t in Tina’s eyes. Nothing is. She is staring down at the courtyard and she doesn’t seem afraid nor does she seem happy or glad as if death is some sort of salvation. She doesn’t seem anything and that is the part that concerns him most.   
  
Tina is a second year with very light brown locks that curl at the ends. Her hair is tied back in a simple ponytail, the ends wisping and curling at the small of her back. Akira takes note of the skull bracelet around her wrist and the way her fingers hold on tightly to the envelope in her left hand.   
  
“Tina,” Futaba tries again “Please.”   
  
Tina doesn’t answer, it’s like there’s nothing in her mind. The students in the lower corridors are starting to realise what’s going on as they rush to the windows, staring in horror as Tina takes one tiny step closer to the edge. Now the ends of her shoes poke out just slightly over the edge.   
  
Akira looks at Shiho. The girl is pale and this scene is probably far too familiar and close for comfort. Ryuji is frozen where he stands and Akechi doesn’t move an inch closer, both of them aware that a wrong move could be fatal for Tina.   
  
Akira takes a step forward and Tina doesn’t seem to notice him. He takes another and another until finally her eyes flick to him instead. Akira holds her gaze and somewhere far down below, he can hear the teachers panicking. Some telling the students to get back to their classes, others shouting nonsensical words, trying to get help or find someone who’d know what to do.   
  
The look in Tina’s eyes is what concerns Akira. There’s nothing there. One should be scared, at least, when standing on the edge of a building but Tina doesn’t seem to even realise the danger she’s in.   
  
“They said you’d figure it out,” she says in a quiet voice “They said you took long enough.”   
  
Akira stares and slowly extends his hand to help her down. She doesn’t take it and instead hands him the envelope she’d been holding.   
  
“You win,” she says, voice light and almost cheerful “Now get to work.”   
  
Shiho gasps, Futaba jumps forward and Akira watches the scene in slow motion. The way Tina’s foot slips off the edge on purpose and she falls over the edge and out of sight.   
  
“NO!” Ryuji screams, they rush to the edge of the building but the shouts from down below tell them what they already know. They don’t hear her hit the ground and Akira only takes one look at the scene below to know she can’t have survived it. She’d be lucky if she had.   
  
Ryuji grits his teeth, he slams his fist against the edge and looks away as Shiho hides her face in her hands. Futaba falls to her knees, Ishida is just shaking and Akira vaguely notices Morgana managed to make it up here in time to see the fall.   
  
Akira just can’t get it out of his mind. The look in Tina’s eyes, the way she’d so effortlessly fallen off the building. He hadn’t seen the other suicides but had they been so quick, so indifferent about taking their own lives? Was there no emotion in suicide?   
  
“We need to go,” Akechi says, breaking the heavy silence over the group “We need to get off this roof now.”   
  
Akira glances at the envelope in his hand and he can’t help but remember that Minato had told him this week would be hard. It would be hard on all of them.   
  
He wonders if this was what he’d meant.   
  
* * *   
  
Makoto and Haru are led through the doors of the interview rooms by a skinny police officer with brown hair and glasses far too large for his face. The second they spot Ann, looking exhausted and upset, they rush to her side.   
  
“Ann,” Makoto breathes, her arms coming around the blonde girl who leans easily into her.   
  
“We were told what happened,” Haru briefs them “I’ve had a word with the detective in charge of this case. He’s agreed to let you go for the moment but you’re not to leave Tokyo.”   
  
Ann nods. It’s harsh but she knows what this looks like. A popular idol like Rise goes missing and the only person who’d been in the immediate vicinity was Ann. It would have been an open and shut case if they could prove that Ann had somehow murdered her or whatever it is they’re thinking.   
  
Yusuke, who is leaning against the wall, watches the three of them and glances up at the security camera filming them all. He frowns, Ann had spent the better part of the last three hours explaining that she’d heard something take Rise away. She’d had to clarify over and over that she hadn’t done anything and the police had pointed out, time and time again, that they saw no evidence of forced entry, no sign that anything could have taken her.   
  
It doesn’t help that Rise’s apartment was not on the ground floor so it’s not like she could have gone out through the tiny bathroom window.   
  
The odds are almost fully against Ann and if Haru hadn’t stepped in, they’d have kept her in longer.   
  
“Your parents are here,” Haru tells her “They’re waiting at the desk. They wanted to come in but…” she pauses and this is a situation where she’d deliberately used her position to get through to places normal people wouldn’t be able to go. Haru doesn’t talk about it often (when she does notice that her status grants her certain privileges others wouldn’t have) but when it does come up, she always looks a little sheepish.   
  
Makoto helps Ann up onto her feet and glances at the officer waiting at the door “Let’s get you home,” she tells her.   
  
Ann is tired. She’s scared and she’s still trying to understand it herself. Although the presence of her friends helps a little, she knows right away that they’re not the people she needs to see about this. The people she wants to see are not in Tokyo and although she’s felt the pain of their absence before, it’s a little more poignant now.   
  
She wonders what Ryuji would have said in this situation.   
  
They come with her to the hall where they are escorted by a police officer until they get to reception where Ann’s parents are waiting for her. They thank her friends, take her away and as Yusuke, Makoto and Haru watch her being taken to the car, they wonder too what really happened and if this had anything to do with the metaverse.   
  
* * *   
  
Sojiro’s new bar is silent as he flips the sign on the door to ‘closed’ and glances at the teenagers taking over his dining area. The cafe is new still and he’s still got a lot of maintenance to do before it is fully operational but when he’d seen the group coming in before school hours had even ended, pale and some of them crying, he knew he couldn’t do anything more today.   
  
“Coffee?” he asks, watching the group sitting around one of the booths “Curry?”   
  
No one looks keen, even Akechi who is a fan of his coffee. Sojiro eyes Futaba, who is pale and curled into the booth. He takes a deep breath “Nijima-san called to...tell me what happened. She says there were rumours you lot were on that roof with that girl.”   
  
Shiho’s face is hidden in Ryuji’s shoulder and he has his arm around her to comfort her. His face is hard as stone, biting back everything he could possibly shout and scream at the fucked up world for landing him in this situation. Him and his friends.   
  
Akira turns the unopened envelope over in his fingers and glances at Akechi. Akechi is also watching the envelope but makes no mention of it yet. Whatever it is, the fake Phantom Thieves had won this round.   
  
“Is she…” Ishida looks at Sojiro “I mean...did they say whether she…?”   
  
“They don’t know yet,” Sojiro tells them “It’s too early to tell. The ambulance took her away, that’s all we know for now.”   
  
Morgana is sitting against Akira’s side. The cat is looking at the envelope as well. He turns his eyes up to Akira and flicks his tail against Akira’s side.   
  
They hear a phone go off somewhere upstairs and Sojiro leaves to answer it. When he’s gone, Akira turns the envelope over in his hands again.   
  
“Open it,” Akechi tells him gently “It’s from them.”   
  
“Fuck them,” Ryuji mutters, his hand still patting Shiho’s shoulder where she’s hidden in him “Fuck all of them. They’ve taken too many lives this week alone and for what? To toy with us like this? Fuck them.”   
  
“Tina…” Futaba hiccups and shakes her head “She said we won. We figured it out. Going by that, I think it’s safe to say the suicides are going to stop now.”   
  
“So it was a game,” Ishida mutters quietly “They were just waiting for us to figure it out. But for what?”   
  
“Who fucking cares?!” Ryuji snaps “We shouldn’t play their game. We should just find the fuckers behind this and….and….” he grits his teeth and shakes his head.   
  
Akechi raises an eyebrow at him “Do you want to kill them, Sakamoto?”   
  
“I want to make them pay,” Ryuji hisses as he turns his glare on Akechi. It’s somehow easier to be mad at him especially when Akechi is so emotionless about this “I want justice for this, all of this. Whoever is behind the fake Phantom Thieves, mucking up our name, making innocent people suffer, I want them to pay. Even if that means a life behind bars.”   
  
Akechi stays calm and rational “Let’s say we don’t open that envelope and don’t play this game they’re making us walk into, what then? How do we find out who is behind this? We’re out of our league here.”   
  
“I don’t know but I don’t like this!” Ryuji yells “Doing exactly what they tell us to do. Letting them test us, letting them control what we do. We’re walking right into their trap!”   
  
“He’s right,” Ishida mumbles “We’re doing what they’re telling us to do.”   
  
“Just open the envelope,” Futaba tells Akira “At best we’ll have a clue that might lead us to whoever is behind this. At worst, a GPS.”   
  
Akira tears the envelope open and pulls out a letter. He sees Futaba relax a little as he unfolds the letter and sees typed words. Of course it wouldn’t be handwritten, that would lead them straight back to the culprit.   
  
_‘Well done on finally figuring it out,’_ it reads _‘Took you long enough Phantom Thieves. I was beginning to have my doubts. I’m sure you’ve realised it by now but the Metaverse, everything as you know it is not the way you remember. There is a new leader in this world and you’re not it anymore. You do as I say, target the people I tell you to and the world will be a better place. Your refusal to do so would be very unwise. You have no idea how the metaverse works now, there are new rules and I’m in charge. Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro, Sakamoto Ryuji, Ishida Hikaru, Takamaki Ann, Nijima Makoto, Okumura Haru, Kitagawa Yusuke and Sakura Futaba. I have your names, one wrong move and I’ll have your lives too._  
  
 _Loki.’_   
  
“Goddammit, goddammit, godFUCKINGDAMMIT!” Ryuji shouts, kicking the table under them in his rage.   
  
“Ryuji!” Ishida squeaks “Calm down!”   
  
Akira and Akechi ignore him, both having caught the missing name that wasn’t on the letter. They turn their eyes to Shiho who is trying to calm Ryuji down before he breaks something.   
  
“He doesn’t know about…” Morgana glances at Shiho as well and turns to Akira “We can use that. He doesn’t seem to know about me either.”   
  
“Every bit counts…” Futaba mutters as Sojiro comes back downstairs. She looks at him “Who was that on the phone?”   
  
“That was Nijima Sae-san,” Sojiro looks tired “The investigation is still going but they have next to nothing.”   
  
“And...the girl?” Shiho asks, her face tense as if she’s afraid of the answer.   
  
Sojiro shakes his head solemnly and the group grow quiet. Akira places the letter on the table and takes a deep breath. He thinks it through for a moment and glances at Ryuji, who still looks like he’s going to murder someone but his arms are still comforting Shiho.   
  
“Let’s go to Tokyo for the weekend,” Akira suggests.   
  
For the first time in days, the entire group smile.   
  
* * *   
  
**4/30 - Saturday**   
  
The bullet train shot smoothly past Toyohashi, hardly jolting its passengers as Akira felt his ears pop with the speed. He rubbed his ear and looked up when he felt Ryuji’s head rest on his shoulder. The other had fallen asleep half an hour ago and the initial relieved chatter of heading to Tokyo had died down as the others busied themselves with their own things.   
  
They’d managed to snag three seats each and turned the seats towards each other so they could talk at first. Sitting opposite him, Akira could see Akechi watching the scenery pass quickly by the window. Beside him, Shiho was reading and Ishida was nodding off. Morgana was tucked safely into the bag resting against Akira’s leg and Futaba had of course brought her laptop.   
  
Akechi, sensing Akira’s eyes, looked over and flicked his gaze briefly to Ryuji. He rose his eyebrow at the sight of the other using Akira’s shoulder as a pillow and shot Akira a small, unimpressed look before turning his gaze back to the window.   
  
It said a lot that Akechi didn’t bother to comment on it and Akira smiled despite himself.   
  
“How long ‘til we get there?” Morgana asked, squirming a little against Akira’s leg “Your bag isn’t comfortable.”   
  
“Keep your head down,” Akechi advised him “They don’t let cats on the bullet train.”   
  
Morgana grumbled to himself and tucked himself tighter into the bag so just his head was poking out slightly. He huffed “Can’t wait until we get there...Lady Ann...is she okay?”   
  
They’d called the group before they’d left and they’d found out what happened to Ann. The initial spurt of worry Akira immediately felt had been validated when Ann told him about the cold presence she’d felt right before Rise disappeared. That thing...whatever it was, was obviously not confined to Akira’s hometown which was what he’d been fearing.   
  
The fact that it targeted Rise (Ryuji was most put out that Ann never told him she was friends with an idol) was confusing but Akechi had pointed out that the original target may just have been Ann. Rise may have been in the way and had nothing to do with this.   
  
In a way it made sense. If the thing was targeting Ann, that meant it was targeting the Phantom Thieves. Rise, who had nothing at all to do with the Metaverse, could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.   
  
But at the same time, something didn’t fit. Akira didn’t know how to explain it other than a gut feeling that they were on the wrong track there and if that thing had wanted Ann, it would have gotten Ann. For some unexplained reason, it had gone after Rise. That either meant they were wrong and against all odds, Rise had something to do with the Metaverse, or worst of all, this thing was loose and targeting anyone.   
  
The frustrating part was not knowing anything.   
  
“No prints on the note,” Futaba says, finally looking up from her laptop “The note that ‘Loki’ guy sent us. There’s nothing to help us track down who it was.”   
  
Akechi’s eyebrows knit in thought and Akira takes a deep breath. They were kind of pushing shit up a hill by hoping the letter had some sort of DNA evidence on it but it was worth a shot. Futaba was only confirming what they already knew.   
  
“A Metaverse with different rules,” Akechi mutters under his breath and glances at Morgana “What are the rules of the Metaverse as we know them?”   
  
“Be more specific why don’t you?” Morgana grumbles “From what we know, the Metaverse is a world made of the distorted desires. Those with extremely distorted desires have palaces and the Metaverse itself, the depths anyway, was the collective conscience of the whole. In the case of what we know, it was Tokyo, if not the whole of Japan.”   
  
Shiho looks up from her book and places it on her lap “And the rules?”   
  
Morgana curls a little more into Akira’s bag and sighs “The way it worked last time was we, the Phantom Thieves, would go into a Palace and steal the treasure - the desire - of the ruler with distorted desires. Stealing their treasures would cause the destruction of the palace but it would also rob them of their desires, thus forcing them to face what they’d been doing. All the crimes they’d committed.”   
  
Futaba glances at Shiho and nods “That’s what we were trying to do with Minagawa before…”   
  
Well...before someone had shot him in the head in real life.   
  
“The thing is, if the ruler of the Palace is killed in the Metaverse, the result would be a mental shutdown and ultimately death in the real world,” Morgana continues “Remember what happened to the late CEO of Okumura Foods?”   
  
Shiho’s eyes grow wide “That was you guys?!”   
  
“No,” Akira responds.   
  
“Yes,” Akechi mutters at the same time.   
  
Akira shoots him a look, telling him to shut up. Whilst he’s not blind to the crimes that Akechi had committed - none of them were - there’s no point in bringing it up now.   
  
“What we’d done was steal his treasure,” Morgana continues as if Akechi hadn’t admitted to the murder of Haru’s father “But if something goes wrong, if the ruler of the palace is killed in the Metaverse, that’s what happens.”   
  
“With Minagawa,” Futaba adds “We had stolen the treasure and everything. We don’t know if he actually had a change of heart or not because...someone shot him. I imagine if he had lived, he’d have had a change of heart just like before.”   
  
Akechi gets that thoughtful look on his face again and Akira notices it first. He has the feeling that Akechi’s on the same level of thinking as he is. The ‘new rules’ part of the letter had bugged them both and if that was the Metaverse they knew, then it made some sense that this new one would work differently.   
  
After all, the atmosphere was heavier and it had knocked them all out the first time they’d entered it. Something new, something powerful was controlling it.   
  
“Maybe stealing their treasures doesn’t work anymore,” Akechi hums “If there are new rules...maybe the function of the Metaverse has changed.”   
  
Morgana looks up “It doesn’t make sense though. The Metaverse is the cognition of the general public and when one person has distorted desires, it only makes sense that they’d bend their reality to the palace of their dreams. That part hasn’t changed. Minagawa had a palace.”   
  
“Yes, and right when we’d successfully stolen the treasure, someone shot him,” Akechi waves it off, they’d been over that part “What if it hadn’t worked? What if there are other things one can do in the Metaverse other than change the thinking of people?”   
  
Akira knows where he’s going with this. After all, Akechi had seen it too. The lifeless and casual look on Tina’s face right before she’d jumped off the building to her death, was not normal in any sense of the word. Very rarely were suicidal people so casual about their deaths. They could be crying, they could be emotional, they could even be happy in rare occasions, but they weren’t as indifferent about it as Tina had been.   
  
Had someone tampered with her cognition in the Metaverse? If so, how?   
  
The announcement that they are soon reaching Tokyo blares over the speakers and wakes up Ryuji. The blonde lifts his head, glances at Akira’s shoulder and sheepishly dabs at a glob of drool he’d left on Akira’s shirt.   
  
“Sorry man,” Ryuji mutters as he stretches his arms above his head and yawns.   
  
Akechi goes back to looking out the window, Shiho puts her book away and nudges Ishida to wake him up.   
  
“Home sweet home,” Ryuji sighs upon seeing the approaching city through the window. He nudges Akira “I know we haven’t been gone that long dude, but it feels like forever.”   
  
Everyone knew exactly what he meant.   
  
* * *   
  
They met up with the rest of the group in Shibuya.   
  
When they come up from Shibuya Station, turn to see the central crossing, the billboards and endless crowds of people who never seemed to know where they were going, Akira knows he’s home. Ryuji stretches his arms out and sighs as he gazes over the sights of Shibuya.   
  
“It never changes,” he remarks “The billboards change and sometimes we get protest groups up in Shibuya Station but the general place never changes.   
  
They cross over to central street and manage to bag one of the bigger tables at the diner. Not long after, Ann and Yusuke show up.   
  
“It is so good to see you guys again!” Ann exclaims as she pulls Shiho into a hug first before attacking the others - even Akechi. Yusuke manages a curt nod and takes a seat at the table with them, carefully avoiding sitting next to Ryuji.   
  
“Are you alright, Lady Ann?” Morgana asks, immediately concerned as he jumps over to sit on her lap “That thing that attacked your friend, it attacked us too so if you need anything…”   
  
“Honestly, I’ll be alright,” Ann tries and it doesn’t work, everyone knows she’s lying. She’s too easy to read and when she looks up to see their faces, she sighs and gently pets Morgana’s back.   
  
“Actually the police are watching me,” she admits “They think I had something to do with the disappearance.”   
  
“Rise Kujikawa,” Ryuji mopes “You could at least have done an intro or something...help me out here.”   
  
Shiho kicks him under the table, Ishida follows and Ryuji growls at both of them.   
  
“Takamaki-san,” Akechi speaks up, Ann shivers and looks at him.   
  
“Please call me Ann,” she pleads quietly “You sound like a teacher.”   
  
Akechi sighs “Ann,” he complies easily “I know you’ve been through this a million times with the police but please, can you tell us about that night?”   
  
Ann slumps a little and Shiho rubs her shoulder. It’s not easy to call back to that night and Ann doesn’t like doing it. But she’s told the police over and over about it, it almost feels as if she memorised the whole speech by route.   
  
“I remember waking up at night for some reason and I heard Rise go to the bathroom and close the door behind her,” she recalls, vaguely noticing that Morgana is curling up closer to her in response to the tone in her voice “Then….I heard something and I went to check on her. I called her name but she didn’t respond. I tried the door but it was locked and I heard her…” she frowns, trying to remember the details “Breathing.”   
  
Akechi frowns “Breathing?”   
  
“Panting,” Ann corrects herself “Heavy breathing. I remember it got faster and faster the colder it got and then suddenly she said…” she pauses and it’s not as though she’s forgotten. She’s never ever going to forget the haunted tone in Rise’s voice, that tone of complete astonishment, as if she’d seen a ghost.   
  
“Senpai,” Ann recalled, her voice quiet as she looked at Akira “Then the door unlocked, I got in and she was gone.”   
  
Morgana looks at Shiho and hums in thought “When we faced that thing, it felt like...it chilled the room but it felt like I was never going to be happy ever again. Like I was somewhere dark and cold and I was never going to get out.”   
  
“I felt the same thing,” Shiho confirms with a nod “Akechi-kun called it a Dementor.”   
  
Akechi’s face turns a little pink “Well I couldn’t think of any other word for it.”   
  
Almost the entire table groan except for Yusuke who looks up, eyebrows knitted in confusion “What’s a dementor?”   
  
“Seriously?!” Ryuji chokes “Yusuke, where have you been living? Under a rock?”   
  
Yusuke raises a perfect eyebrow at Ryuji and waits for the blonde to remember that Yusuke had been sheltered most of his life, raised in a shack and living only for art and silence to his mentor. He watches the slow cogs click in Ryuji’s mind as he remembers and consequently looks sheepish.   
  
“Oh,” he mutters.   
  
“Yes,” Yusuke nods and leaves it at that.   
  
“Do you know who this ‘senpai’ might have been?” Akechi asks Ann “Maybe that’s somewhere to start.”   
  
“I had a look around before the police got there,” Ann tells them and reaches into her bag to pull out a photo album. She places it on the table and flicks through the pictures until she lands on a tall boy with silver hair in the shape of a bowl cut. His eyes are light, almost grey and he wears a uniform none of them recognise.   
  
Shiho gasps and leans in to look at it closer “Yu,” she breathes.   
  
Akira blinks “That’s Yu?”   
  
Shiho nods, there’s no doubt about it. She’d never forget that face now, not after everything he’d done for her.   
  
There’s a note under Yu’s picture in Rise’s writing ‘senpai’ and Akira’s mind quickly comes to the most logical conclusion. It also fits, like a puzzle piece, perfectly into what he’d already known and what he’d been thinking. One look at Akechi and he can tell the other has figured it out as well.   
  
“Rise had something to do with the Metaverse,” Akechi concludes. He looks at Shiho “Because Yu was in there, wasn’t he?”   
  
Shiho nods and Akechi hums “Chances are high that Rise also knew what the Metaverse was. When that thing came looking for her, it was because she’d been part of the Metaverse.”   
  
Akira blinks, he thinks about what Minato had told him. That previous generations of persona users were being targeted. That the leaders were all gone. There was a high chance that Yu had been the leader of the previous generation and Rise was probably involved. Which meant that it was true, they were being targeted.   
  
“Guys we need to be careful,” Akechi says, as if reading Akira’s mind “This thing is targeting persona users. We don’t know if it’s related at all to what’s happening with the fake Phantom Thieves, but something out there is going after us. Rise may have been part of a previous generation of persona users.”   
  
Ryuji’s eyes widen “You mean...she was one of us?!”   
  
“An earlier version most likely,” Akechi hums “So was this Yu. We can’t tell how many of them there were but it seems they’re being targeted. Chances are, when this thing has them, it will come after us next.”   
  
Futaba frowns “That’s a comforting thought,” she mutters under her breath.   
  
Shiho stares at the picture of Yu. It was clearly taken years ago but there’s no doubt in her mind that this is him. Slowly, like pieces of a puzzle, things are coming together and they feel like they know more than they did before. But it still doesn’t answer the many questions they have, particularly about the fake Phantom Thieves, about Loki and what he seems to want from them.   
  
It does, however, tell them one thing: the previous persona users are much closer than they thought they were.   
  
“Do you suppose they were thieves?” Yusuke asks “Did they do things the same way we did them?”   
  
Morgana hums in thought “I wonder,” he mutters “I’m not saying I know everything but the part I do know is that there are many ways to enter the Metaverse.”   
  
“I think I remember Yu asking me if I came in through a TV screen,” Shiho mumbles, trying to recall everything. It’s hazy because at the time she’d been mostly confused and she hadn’t known who the hell he was.   
  
“So then Rise was taken away by something I can’t prove,” Ann frowns and looks at Akira “The police told me not to leave Tokyo. It’s fine, I didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon but I can’t prove my innocence by saying something like that took her away. I was the only one in the apartment.”   
  
“The justice system usually demands some form of proof before they can ever prove you guilty,” Akechi tells her “Chances are, they can’t prove you did anything or were involved in any way. They’ll be suspicious of you but they’ll be forced to drop the case unless they can prove you actually had something to do with it. Which is impossible.”   
  
Ryuji looks up, a frown appearing on his face as he realises the most obvious thing “Where are Makoto and Haru?” he asks.   
  
The rest of the table stare and Ryuji blinks “What?”   
  
“They’re at uni,” Futaba answers “Makoto is studying something that takes up all her time and Haru is not only studying business but she’s also running a business of her own.”   
  
They have to be warned, eventually, that they’re in danger. They’re all in danger if Akechi’s line of thinking is correct. Something is coming after them and when it’s done wiping out the previous generation, it’s going to come after all of them. Perhaps it already is coming for them.   
  
It makes Akira nervous. They can’t prepare for something they can’t fight and to make things worse, this Loki guy knows who they are and he’s demanding they continue their work as the Phantom Thieves, but only on the subjects he chooses. It’s tricky, it’s frustrating and the only salvation is that Loki didn’t name Shiho. Akira glances at the girl and tries to think of a way out of this, a way to save his friends.   
  
It’s so frustrating to feel like he has no control and if he really thinks about it, he has less control now than he had when he was on probation. Now someone else is holding a leash and he is the unfortunate creature on the end of it.   
  
* * *   
  
They end up staying at an inn. Ann is safe with her parents, Futaba and Shiho go to spend the night with her so she is not alone. Yusuke joins the group as no one feels safe leaving him alone in his dorm. Not when Loki seems to know his name.   
  
Makoto and Haru are, for the most part, safe. Not only are they in dorms but Haru has guards and, as Ryuji so eloquently put it: “Pity the thing that comes after Makoto. It needs protection from her, not the other way around.”   
  
So it’s a boys’ night and because the inn is an onsen inn, it only makes sense to take advantage of the facilities which is how Akira finds himself in the hot baths sometime after a long dinner (and a long LINE conversation with Makoto and Haru who couldn’t get back to the city in time).   
  
Morgana is perched on the stools, dry and watching as the five boys take up the enormous tub. Even with all of them in there, there is still plenty of space but no one seems to want to join them.   
  
Possibly because Ryuji keeps glaring at any old man who tries.   
  
“I must admit,” Yusuke breaks the silence “It is nice to have you all back here. I’d almost forgotten what that felt like.”   
  
Ryuji looks wounded “You nearly forgot me?!” he laughs and doesn’t notice the raw emotion that appears on Yusuke’s face for a fraction of a second before he secures it tightly away with insecure laughing.   
  
“Never,” Yusuke mutters quietly under his breath. In his head, he’s thanking the water for being so hot and giving him an excuse for the blush that appears on his face.   
  
Ishida’s watching him quietly, glancing between him and Ryuji, between Akira and Akechi but he says nothing.   
  
“So,” Yusuke says, eager to change the subject “This...Loki. He’s the one who appeared in Minagawa’s Palace? He knows who we are now?”   
  
Akechi nods “That’s the assumption. I’m under the impression we are not dealing with just one person. The suicides, for one, were too perfectly executed to be done by only one person. Not to mention there is that hacker that Futaba found, Jax. We could be dealing with a group, we just don’t know how large that group is.”   
  
“Could this be connected to the thing...the dementor that is coming after us?” Ishida asks “The fake Phantom Thieves and the...let’s just keep calling it a Dementor.”   
  
Akechi winces at the name and shrugs “We don’t know enough.”   
  
“That pisses me off,” Ryuji admits with a slight growl to his tone “This is….really….”   
  
“Frustrating,” Yusuke finishes his sentence gently. He nods “I agree but what can we do?”   
  
Akechi shakes his head “Futaba did not find any prints on the note and neither did Sae-san when I asked. My advice would be, for now, to play along with Loki’s demands but keep our eyes wide open.”   
  
“There is Suzui,” Akira pitches in and for a moment, Ishida and Ryuji look confused. Akira realises they hadn’t noticed it. “Her name was the only one not on the note,” he tells them “Well...hers and Morgana’s. There’s a chance that Loki doesn’t know about them.”   
  
“We should take advantage of that,” Morgana speaks from where he’s curled up on the stool.   
  
“Chances are, Loki counted when he saw us in Minagawa’s castle,” Akechi hums “At that time, we did not have Suzui with us. Perhaps that’s why.”   
  
“That doesn’t explain Morgana,” Yusuke reminds him with a gesture to the cat “He was with us.”   
  
Ishida shrugs “It’s possible that Loki’s attention was mostly on pointing a gun at Kurusu-kun’s head. If he didn’t know who we were at the time, then his question was genuine. If he already knew, then he was...I dunno, playing.”   
  
“Only an idiot would have answered him seriously,” Ryuji points out with a scoff “Our leader is not a moron. Quiet but he’s not a moron.”   
  
Akira can’t fault that observation. He watches the steam rising from the water and glances at the guests of the inn who are occupying themselves with the other baths. He turns back to his group and takes a deep breath “Maybe the answers are in the Metaverse.”   
  
The group look at him blankly and once again he has to explain himself “This thing, the dementor, it came from the Metaverse. Loki wants us to go back to the Metaverse to target the people he points out. Maybe we can make it work.”   
  
“If Loki gives us people to target, they probably have Palaces so they’re probably not exactly innocent either,” Morgana adds “So it’s not like we’d be doing something bad...really.”   
  
“Not everyone bad has a palace,” Yusuke reminds them “Futaba.”   
  
Akechi sighs “Nevertheless, we may have no choice but to go along with Loki’s demands for now. We may find something else in the Metaverse that could help us figure out what’s going on.”   
  
Akira realises, late, that they have another avenue open to them. Going to sleep might provide answers too, if either Igor or Minato are willing and able to answer his questions. Igor never answers anything he doesn’t want to for fear of messing around with fate and Minato is so annoyingly vague.   
  
“I’m boiling,” Ryuji groans and gets up “Who am I rooming with?”   
  
Akechi points at Yusuke who is making a point of not looking at Ryuji’s naked body. Ryuji smiles, albeit nervously, and pats Yusuke’s shoulder before climbing out of the baths.   
  
Yusuke coughs “I think I’m at my limit as well,” he admits as he gingerly gets up “Goodnight everyone.”   
  
He gets out, carefully avoiding Ryuji as he goes for his towel and Akechi looks at Ishida “You’ve got Morgana with you tonight,” he tells the boy “Anything happens, we’re all on the same floor.”   
  
“Got it,” Ishida smiles and watches as Akira exchanges a look with Akechi and gets out of the bath.   
  
Akechi follows soon after, leaving Ishida alone in the bath. Ishida watches them all disappear for the changing rooms and when he’s alone, he looks at Morgana.   
  
“So,” he asks the cat “Were they all gay last year or is this a new thing?”   
  
Morgana’s eyes widen like he has no idea what Ishida’s talking about and the boy sinks a little into the water.   
  
“Just me who noticed that then…” he mumbles to himself.   
  
* * *   
  
“Ann,” Futaba picks up a CD from the dresser and looks over it curiously, she shows it to the blonde sitting on the bed “Who’s this?”   
  
They’re all set up in Ann’s room. Her mother had come to check on them twice already to make sure they were comfortable. Shiho and Futaba had futons on the floor and Ann had her own bed. Already, Futaba’s laptop was hard at work, stealing data from the police database as Shiho had told them more about Yu and her encounter with them.   
  
Ann looks at the CD in Futaba’s hands and smiles “That’s Sora,” she says “Minagawa’s son. He’s actually a pretty good singer. I bought his tape after the...the show…”   
  
The night Rise disappeared.   
  
Shiho reaches out to hold her hand and Futaba comes back to sit on the bed with them.   
  
“This was why we did this,” Futaba recalls as she places the CD case nearby “To help people like that. Think of where we’d all be without the Phantom Thieves. I’d still be in my room.”   
  
“I wouldn’t have been able to stand up to Kamoshida the way I did if they hadn’t been there,” Ann adds quietly “Yusuke would still be with Madarame, Haru would be….oh Haru would have been sold off already, the poor girl,” she shakes her head “We’re all better off because of the Phantom Thieves. Others are as well, this is why we did this.”   
  
“It’s why we need to keep doing it,” Futaba adds “but more importantly, Ann, you’re fine now with us here but what about when we have to go back? If something is coming after all of us...I mean this is why we haven’t been alone so far.”   
  
“I’ll figure something out,” Ann promises “Worry less about me and more about yourselves. That cold thing, whatever it is, might be able to travel around thanks to the Metaverse but Loki seems to be in your area. Keep your eyes open.”   
  
Futaba’s laptop beeps and the girl grins as she slides off Ann’s bed and onto the floor to crawl to it “Or our laptops,” she hums and begins tapping away.   
  
Shiho turns back to Ann and squeezes her hand. Ann leans into her, resting her head on Shiho’s shoulder.   
  
“I’m glad you’re here,” Ann sighs “I’m glad all of you are here. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”   
  
Shiho rubs her back and watches Futaba typing away on the floor. She thinks of the horrible thing that could attack them all at night and of the frustration that they are fighting blind. But when her thoughts turn to the picture she’d seen of Yu, she feels a familiar aching pain in her chest.   
  
She did realise one thing: Rise had called ‘senpai’ before she’d disappeared and now they knew, ‘senpai’ was Narukami Yu. Shiho herself had seen the cold thing that had attacked her that night and whilst it had been there, it had not touched her.   
  
A thought, half materialised and confusing appears in her mind and she can’t help but wonder. Was that really just a monster from the Metaverse? Or was it, as Shiho feared, Yu himself?   
  
* * *   
  
Ryuji lay down on the futon and cursed the staff. They’d laid the futons out on the tatami mat as always and Ryuji had forgotten that they tended to lie them side by side. He glances at Yusuke lying down beside him and wonders if he’s even going to be alright with this.   
  
It’s bad enough he dreams of both Ann and Yusuke on a nightly basis but to have one of the subjects of his dreams right next to him...it may be asking far more than he can actually bear.   
  
He’s very close to asking Ishida to switch with him and give him the damn cat.   
  
“So,” Ryuji hums, trying not to think of a particularly interesting dream he had last night that involved Yusuke on his knees “How’s art school? Had any shows?”   
  
Yusuke glances at him, as if wondering if Ryuji is actually interested in that, and looks back to the ceiling “I have one upcoming show,” he indulges the question “If you’d like to come?”   
  
The last time Ryuji had been at an art show, he’d been bored and then he’d been crushed by Madarame’s fans. Yusuke highly doubts that Ryuji’s keen to repeat that experience but inside he can’t help but hope Ryuji would come. It’s a streak of strange masochism that Yusuke wants Ryuji near even though he logically knows he can’t have the boy.   
  
“If I’m in Tokyo,” Ryuji half-promises “What are you painting these days? Flowers? Dogs? Kittens? Shadows?”   
  
Yusuke thinks of his room which has more paintings of an illusive blonde boy who haunts his dreams and wonders if having Ryuji at an art event is such a good idea after all. He coughs and turns a little so his back is facing Yusuke “Just...things...”   
  
He winces, he’s a bad liar even when Ryuji isn’t looking at him.   
  
Ryuji glances at Yusuke’s back and sighs as he gets up to turn the light off. He comes back to the futon and there’s a shuffle of blankets as both boys slide into their beds. Both keeping a respectable distance from each other by creating a line of space between their futons.   
  
There’s a moment of silence before Yusuke speaks.   
  
“Ryuji?”   
  
Ryuji looks at his dark form on the bed beside him and Yusuke shivers “How do you fight that thing?”   
  
The blonde shrugs, he doesn’t know the answer to that. He hadn’t been there when it had come after Shiho. He watches Yusuke’s form in the darkness and shakes his head “If it comes, I won’t let it get you,” he promises.   
  
Yusuke knows Ryuji would say that to anyone. He’s protective, especially over the people he cares about and even though Yusuke knows Ryuji doesn’t mean specifically him, he still can’t help the small warmth that spreads through his chest at the thought.   
  
Of course, Yusuke is just as capable of defending himself as Ryuji is but the thought still warms Yusuke.   
  
He’ll take this, he’ll take whatever he can because he’s never going to have Ryuji and he knows better than to hope for it.   
  
On his futon, Ryuji closes his eyes and rolls over. More than the fear of a creature that could take them all away and probably kill them, he fears his dreams more. Because if Yusuke finds out what Ryuji dreams about night after night, Ryuji might just beg the dementor to take him away.   
  
Meanwhile in their room, Akira watches Akechi pacing around the room.   
  
Akira had long ago set himself up on his futon. He’d brushed his teeth, he’d changed into pyjamas and he’d settled but Akechi had a million things on his mind and - as Akira well knew - the only way the former detective seemed to be able to make sense of any of it, was if he paced around the room a few hundred times.   
  
“Goro,” Akira speaks after Akechi wanders around again “Come to bed.”   
  
Akechi freezes and glances at Akira “What happens if we fall asleep?” he asks “What if we-”   
  
“Then we ask them questions and try to get a straight or helpful answer,” Akira pats the space next to him “What are you pacing for? You know we can’t do anything about Loki right now, Futaba is still trying to find out who Jax is and she’s the only person who can. We also can’t do anything about this cold thing, we need to sleep.”   
  
Akechi fixes a skeptical look and eyes Akira up and down for a good minute. He huffs “The last thing you have on your mind, Kurusu Akira, is sleep.”   
  
“We’ll sleep,” Akira promises and pulls the blanket back a little “Eventually.”   
  
Akechi rolls his eyes. He flicks the light off and comes down to crawl into the futon. Just like Ryuji and Yusuke, they have two futons but where Ryuji had made sure there was space between his futon and Yusuke’s, Akira and Akechi had pushed theirs together.   
  
Akechi rolls onto Akira’s side and leans over him a little “This is kind of strange, don’t you think?” he asks as he feels Akira’s hand come up to play with his hair “We’re all in very real danger, there is something that could take us away, possibly kill us. We’re being threatened by an enemy we have no way of finding and yet we’re still slaves to our basest instincts.”   
  
“You make it sound like we’re supposed to be robots,” Akira points out as his arm slides around Akechi’s waist to hold him closer “Should I make this simpler for you?”   
  
“Please,” Akechi mutters dryly.   
  
Akira flicks Akechi’s hair out of his eyes and holds his gaze. It’s dark but they’re close enough to see each other just fine through the dim light of the moonlight coming from the window. He leans in a little “There’s nothing we can do right now and getting grey hairs over that won’t change anything.”   
  
Akechi frowns “You think I’m getting grey hairs?”   
  
“Well you are old,” Akira teases and Akechi splutters.   
  
“I’m one year older than you!” he points out and pokes Akira in the side. The dark haired boy laughs until Akechi leans down to cut him off with his lips. They’d been doing this more lately and Akechi couldn’t exactly complain about it.   
  
For multiple reasons, Akira comforted him. Having the boy in his arms was indescribable and kissing him shut Akechi’s mind off completely.   
  
Akira was right, he couldn’t do anything right now except focus on the one thing he could do something about. That one thing being that Akira was wearing far too many clothes.   
  
Akira’s hands slide up Akechi’s back, pushing his shirt up until it bunches under his arms. With a swift move, Akechi pulls the shirt over his head and pulls at Akira’s until his is off as well. Akechi starts kissing down Akira’s neck, relishing in the small, quiet and almost refrained noises he can draw from the other.   
  
Akira is quiet naturally but Akechi usually makes it his goal to make the boy louder where it counts.   
  
The feeling of skin against skin, of Akechi’s lips and his hands sliding down to Akira’s hips make the other squirm a little. Akira’s hands slide along Akechi’s back, up into his hair and when he finds Akechi’s lips again, he kisses harder than before.   
  
Minato was right, it had been a hard week. For all of them. Ann had lost a friend and they’d all witnessed far too many deaths in one week. If Akira wasn’t so concerned for their lives as a whole, he’d look into their mental health as well. It’s at the top of his worries but with Akechi’s kisses trailing down his neck, down to his collarbone, Akira sucks in a breath and settles his hand on Akechi’s head.   
  
Akechi’s hair is always so soft, his lips are as well and when Akira feels them land on his bare chest, his back arches a little and a whimper escapes him.   
  
Akechi laughs, the vibrations just make Akira shiver more and he tugs on Akechi’s hair in revenge, another whimper escaping when Akechi’s lips land on his left nipple.   
  
“You’re so sensitive, Akira,” Akechi teases with a flick of his tongue.   
  
Akira’s losing his mind silently, he’s struggling between paying attention to the uncomfortable hardness in his pants and paying attention to what Akechi is doing with his lips. When Akechi’s lips start dragging down, lower and lower to Akira’s stomach, the dark haired boy stiffens a little.   
  
They’ve kissed, touched and grinded against each other but Akechi’s lips have never gone below the belt. Akira’s eyes flutter open, he looks down to see the most evil look on Akechi’s face as his hands gently pull at Akira’s pants.   
  
Akira wants to tell him he doesn’t have to. He wants to assure Akechi he’s not obligated to do anything like this and he can come back up and they can do things they’ve done before. There’s no rush. But he can’t say anything before Akechi ducks down, pulls gently at Akira’s underwear and mouths at his head.   
  
Akira drops back onto the pillow and hisses, his hand is back in Akechi’s hair and the other laughs again. The vibrations just feel good, too good and for a moment Akira is legitimately afraid he’s going to come too fast.   
  
He takes a deep breath. Akechi pulls at his clothes until they’re well out of the way and Akira wants to return the favour. He wants to touch the other, to make him moan because it seems to always be Akechi who makes him lie down, who takes charge. He does it so naturally and it’s wonderful but it robs Akira of every single ounce of power he could have.   
  
Akechi’s tongue runs down his shaft, making Akira’s toes curl and his breath halt. Akira pulls again on Akechi’s hair, he moans and looks down.   
  
“Why are you…?” he tries to ask and Akechi hushes him.   
  
“I like seeing you like this,” Akechi admits “Calm, cool and collected Akira...losing his mind because of me.”   
  
Akira would glare at him if he had the energy but then Akechi’s mouth is on him again and all he can manage is another whimper. Akechi only laughs.   
  
It’s wonderful. Waves and waves of pleasure, unrelenting and steady. Making Akira’s toes curl, making his fingers pull on Akechi’s hair, making his back arch and he doesn’t know how long he’s going to last. Not long at all if Akechi has his way.   
  
“Stop,” Akira pleads, he doesn’t want it to end like this, he wants to see Akechi lose it too “Stop.”   
  
Akechi pulls back and for a second, Akira mourns the wonderful feeling, but then Akechi is lying on top of him. He’s letting Akira pull at his clothes, he’s just as hard and when he takes his mouth, Akira doesn’t even care about where it’s been because they’re pressed against each other, grinding and moving like it’s the most natural thing.   
  
“You’ll be the death of me,” Akechi promises and Akira belatedly realises the other is just as breathless. He’s shaking, he’s sweaty and he’s grinding down against Akira with increasingly desperate movements.   
  
Akira holds him tighter. He kisses him back, slides his hands down Akechi’s back and listens to the other’s hitched breath, watches the telltale flutter of his eyes. He leans up to kiss Akechi’s lips, swallowing his moans and his hands shift between their bodies, touching and stroking, dragging Akechi towards his end faster and faster.   
  
“Akira,” Akechi whimpers, actually whimpers, against Akira’s ear.   
  
Akechi’s fingers are holding onto him so tightly, he’s leaving nail marks on Akira’s shoulders, he’s biting his skin and Akira is almost going to lose his mind, he’s so close it’s driving him crazy.   
  
Akechi loses it first. With a long and loud moan in Akira’s ear, he goes stiff for a moment and slumps in Akira’s arms, his face hiding in Akira’s shoulder as the dark haired boy follows suit with a much quieter moan. Bliss washing over his mind and body, making him forget for a few precious moments where they are and what they’re supposed to be worrying about.   
  
They’re hot, sticky and sweaty but Akechi doesn’t get off Akira and Akira doesn’t let him go. For a moment, the only sound is that of their heavy breathing.   
  
Finally, Akechi chuckles “The idea was to make you louder, not me,” he points out.   
  
Akira kisses his ear and hugs him closer “Poor Goro,” he teases “Old and a failure.”   
  
Akechi pokes his side in revenge and Akira laughs. For one more night, they forget.   
  
* * *   
  
The feeling of floating is too familiar now but before Akira opens his eyes, he hears the sound of train tracks, rather than the telltale elegance of the Velvet Room. He opens his eyes to see the advertisements on the top side sections of the train and turns his head to see Minato.   
  
The boy is the same as always, casually leaning back, his headphones perched over his shoulders, picking at his blue hair and watching the darkness outside the windows.   
  
Akira sits up slowly and looks around.   
  
“He’s not going to be here,” Minato says before Akira thinks to ask “Akechi, I mean. He can’t be here.”   
  
Akira rubs at his neck and sighs “He can be in the velvet room,” he points out.   
  
“Yes,” Minato nods “But he’s not a leader. You are. I was.”   
  
Akira eyes the boy, he leans back in his seat and looks around the car. As usual, it’s totally empty. Only the two of them are there. He glances back at Minato and frowns “What about Yu? Narukami Yu?”   
  
“Ah,” a small grin spreads over Minato’s face and he nods “You found out about him then. Well...his name.”   
  
Akira doesn’t answer, he watches Minato, waiting for an answer.   
  
“Yu is somewhere else,’” Minato answers “Just like I am somewhere else. Don’t hold out hope, you are the only leader still alive.”   
  
Akira frowns. So Yu is actually dead. He studies Minato and decides not to ask how the boy seems to know all these things. Something tells him he doesn’t need to know but there’s something solid about Minato. Trustworthy. As if he has a lot more invested in keeping Akira alive than simple courtesy.   
  
“Tell me something,” Akira asks of him “Something helpful. You told me this week would be hard and it was, but you didn’t specify how. Tell me something useful, my teammates are in danger and if you want to help-”   
  
Minato holds up his hand, cutting Akira off mid-plea. Akira stares at the blue haired boy as he takes a deep breath “I can’t,” he admits “There is so much about the Metaverse that you neither need to know nor will ever know.”   
  
“Then at least tell me what’s attacking us? Is it related at all to this Loki guy?” Akira questions, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees “Is there anything we can do?”   
  
A grin spreads over Minato’s face and he chuckles a little “Isn’t it a little ironic?” he asks “Don’t you find it ironic that your enemy here is named Loki? The same persona name of your lover isn’t it? Akechi called it….”   
  
Akira did notice that. He’d swiftly ignored that. The Loki going after them was not Akechi’s Loki. The name was a coincidence.   
  
Minato adjusts the headphones on his shoulders and nods “I did tell you this week would be difficult. For all of you. But I can’t tell you what Loki is and I can’t tell you what’s coming after you. I don’t know what it is but it’s almost got the entire generation before you. There is only one left and when he’s gone, this thing will start coming after you.”   
  
Akira stares at him “Tell me what I can do to save my friends,” he pleads “Help us. What about the suicides? How is Loki doing this?”   
  
Minato nods “I can help with that one,” he says and leans forward “When you go into the Metaverse to change the rulers of Palaces, you trigger a personality change. Forcing them to come to terms with their crimes, grow a conscience and be unable to face them.”   
  
Akira nods and Minato tilts his head “This Loki, is doing something similar. Those students he targeted, they didn’t have Palaces but they have shadows in the Metaverse. Just like shadows existed in the subways you explored last year.”   
  
“But…” Akira pauses to think about it “But those shadows that turned up in the subways, were there for distorted desires. Not big enough for a Palace, but still there. Are you telling me all those victims, those students had distorted desires?”   
  
“No, they were normal,” Minato explains “That letter said this Metaverse has new rules. He’s right. Shadows in the Metaverse are now not limited only to those with distorted desires. Everyone has a shadow version of themselves in the Metaverse and if they are ever killed…”   
  
Akira pieces the rest by himself. If a shadow of a palace ruler was killed in the Metaverse, then he would die in real life. He’d suffer a mental shutdown. If everyone had a shadow version of themselves in the Metaverse, regardless of whether they were guilty or innocent, then it would stand to reason that they’d be affected if their shadows were ever killed.   
  
“Those victims,” Minato continues “Their shadows were murdered. They were robbed of every ounce of the will to live. All that was left was to make sure they died at school so you would notice.”   
  
It changes the rules if everyone has a shadow. Loki had been targeting the shadows, all he’d had to do was make sure they died at school where everyone would see.   
  
Suddenly, Minato starts looking uncomfortable. Akira notes a darkness taking over the train car. The lights dim, it starts getting darker and colder. Akira notes his breath, he can see it coming from his mouth and he glances at Minato to see the boy is holding his chest as if in pain.   
  
“Minato,” Akira gets up to help him and Minato holds his hand out.   
  
“Don’t,” Minato pants, his face screwed in pain as he curls up on the chair “Don’t. Move.”   
  
It’s the serious tone in Minato’s voice that gives Akira pause. Akira stays exactly where he is, not daring to move a muscle and Minato clutches at his chest, breathing harder and harder as he curls into the chair and presses his forehead into the seat.   
  
Then Akira sees it. The windows are already dark but there is something out there. Something sliding past the train. A shadowy figure that is darker than the darkness outside already. It’s enormous, it casts a shadow that throws the inside of the train into darkness as it lurks past. Akira can hear it growling, inhuman and cold as a pair of red eyes look into the train.   
  
“Don’t. Move,” Minato hisses “Don’t. Move.”   
  
Akira doesn’t breathe. The red eyes are looking right at him and he feels it suck every ounce of warmth from his body. He fights to keep himself from shaking but it’s staring at him, it’s draining all the heat, draining everything from him. In Akira’s mind, an image of Akechi appears. He’s lifeless on the ground and so is Ryuji. Ann, Yusuke, they’re all dead. He feels a hopelessness take over him and a voice, dark and sinister, whispers in his ear.   
  
“Soon,” it promises “Very soon.”   
  
“Kurusu,” Minato hisses “Close your eyes.”   
  
Akira complies. It’s still cold, he’s frozen to the spot and he doesn’t move but he closes his eyes, blocking out the red eyes that were watching him. The image in his head vanishes, the voice does as well and Akira listens as the figure slides past the train. The sounds of its growling moves further and further away until finally Akira feels warmth return to him again.   
  
He hesitantly opens his eyes again as the lights of the train car flick on again, lighting them both.   
  
Minato winces in pain and pushes himself back into a sitting position. He rubs at his chest and Akira comes up to him.   
  
“Are you alright?” he asks.   
  
“I’m fine,” Minato promises.   
  
Akira sits down next to him. He watches Minato in concern and frowns “That was it wasn’t it? The dementor?”   
  
Minato looks up, a small look of amusement spreading over his face despite the seriousness of a few seconds ago.   
  
“Is that what you’re calling it?” he chuckles.   
  
Akira shrugs and Minato shakes his head “It’s a Tani. Particularly nasty creatures from the Metaverse. They live off the souls of others.”   
  
The use of the plural makes Akira pause “There’s...there’s more than one?” he asks with dread in his voice.   
  
“There are plenty,” Minato nods “But they’re not supposed to be out. Even in the Metaverse, they’re supposed to be locked away, kept from humanity and shadows alike. The fact that they’re out means…”   
  
He goes quiet and Akira frowns. Minato had seemed particularly susceptible to them. Where Akira had only felt the cold and hopelessness, Minato looked like he had actually been in physical pain. He waits for the blue haired boy to finish that sentence but he doesn’t.   
  
“This week isn’t over,” Minato mutters, going back to rubbing his chest.   
  
Akira frowns and he feels the familiar sting of worry and dread spike at the back of his mind “What do you mean?”   
  
“This week isn’t over,” Minato repeats himself “Remember how I said it would be the hardest?”   
  
Oh god, what now? What else could possibly happen?   
  
The boys look up when they hear a voice calling Akira’s name. Minato nods “You’re being woken up,” he says and takes the gun from his waist. He points it to his head and looks at Akira “I’m sorry. I can’t.”   
  
The bang wakes Akira up and when his eyes open, Ishida is hovering above him with tears in his eyes and his hands on Akira’s shoulders as he’d been trying to wake him up.   
  
“Kid,” Akira mumbles sleepily “What’s wrong?”   
  
Ishida sniffs and shakes his head “It’s Morgana,” he sobs “He’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Living in Japan is expensive, especially when your idols decide that a concert in the beginning of the next year is a good idea...  
> But hey, for all you guys still reading this, thank you so much. It makes my day, my week, my MONTH to read comments. I read them when I'm stuck for ideas, when I'm waiting for an interview and when I'm on the train and turning my offensive music down because I swear people can hear them through the headphones... (paranoid writer)
> 
> See you next time! More to come later :)


	11. At Long Last

**5/1 - Sunday**  
  
Ann’s room is quiet. The only noise is the gentle hum of Futaba’s laptop as the girls are asleep. Ann is curled up on her bed, Futaba and Shiho on their futon mattresses. Just as the clock strikes midnight, a cool wind shifts through the room. Stealing all the heat and warmth until Ann wakes up.  
  
She recognises the cold immediately. Shiho opens her eyes and looks up, suddenly realising she can see her breath in the light coming from the window.  
  
“Shiho,” Ann whispers as she sits up.  
  
It gets colder and eventually Futaba wakes up as well, sensing something wrong. The girls sit up and watch with horror as a darkness begins to form in the corner of the room. Futaba gets up immediately, Shiho stares and Ann is too paralyzed to move as the shadow forms, larger and larger, taking up the entire corner of the room until two red eyes appear in the middle.  
  
Futaba backs up until she hits the all on the other side of the room and Ann is still on her bed, staring and trying to think of what they can do. Futaba tries turning on the lights but they won’t turn on. The room is getting colder and the girls feel the thing sucking out every ounce of hope, paralysing them.  
  
The red eyes turn to Shiho. The shadow advances on her and Shiho can’t move. She’s staring at the shadow, right into the red eyes and trying to see...something. Anything.  
  
The shadow moves right in front of her. It hovers over her and slowly, Shiho gets up to her feet, staring into the red eyes. She feels it. The red eyes are draining the life from her but she can see something. It’s faint, almost like a mirage.  
  
“No, Shiho!” Ann screams as Shiho reaches for the shadow and feels the world behind her drop away, like she’s being taken somewhere else. Right before the world spins and goes black, she sees a familiar mop of silver hair, a comforting and familiar scent envelops her as she feels a strong arm wrap around her waist.  
  
Then it all goes black.  
  
* * *  
  
The boys end up in Ishida’s room at two in the morning. Ryuji pinches the bridge of his nose and holds back a yawn as Akechi leans back against the wall. Yusuke is sleepy but paying attention as Akira sits in front of Ishida and watches him closely.  
  
“Go through it one more time,” he asks of the boy.  
  
Ishida is anything but okay. He’s shaken up, he’s pale and he stopped crying but he’s still traumatised. He looks around the walls and Ryuji notices.  
  
“Dude, it’s not gonna come back,” he assures Ishida “From what we know, it only comes for one person...or one...cat…”  
  
“I woke up and it was cold,” Ishida shivers “It was freezing actually. I felt my blanket go stiff like it was frozen too and when I looked up, Morgana was hissing at this...this thing in the corner of the room.”  
  
“Which corner?” Akechi asks and Ishida points to the corner of the wall closest to the window and closet. It’s bare now of course.  
  
“It was like a huge dark...thing,” Ishida recalls “Had red eyes and it’s like...it’s like it sucked all the warmth in the room. I felt like I was never going to be happy ever again. It was like it was trying to make me feel…” he struggles for a word.  
  
Yusuke watches him “Depressed?” he offers.  
  
“No, not...not quite,” Ishida mumbles and picks at his sleeve “Like I’d never feel anything again. Not happiness, not sadness, not...not anything…”  
  
“Apathy,” Akechi corrects him quietly “Go on.”  
  
“Morgana was hissing at it and it went after him,” Ishida explains in a shaky tone “It went straight for him. The shadow...it…” he struggles for a moment, trying to describe the scene he’d witnessed “It swallowed him. Took him over completely and when I looked again, he was gone and so was the shadow.”  
  
Tani. Akira remembers Minato telling him. The shadow was called a Tani and apparently there was more than one. He shivers at the thought and looks around at his group. None of them seem to know how to deal with this situation and he can’t blame them, there’s almost nothing they can do.  
  
That thing came and it took Morgana but it almost sounds premature. Akira remembers that Minato had specifically told him, the creatures were taking the persona users out generation by generation. Does that mean that the previous generation were all gone now? It still doesn’t sound right. Something doesn’t sit right about all this. He glances at Akechi to see the former detective watching him in turn. Akechi doesn’t look convinced either.  
  
Ryuji’s phone rings as Yusuke goes to comfort Ishida. Akira looks up when he hears Ann’s raised voice and watches as Ryuji jumps and immediately pulls the phone away from his abused ear.  
  
“What?” Ryuji rubs his ear and puts the phone back “Ann, Ann slow down…”  
  
“Akira,” Akechi mutters quietly “Talk to me later.”  
  
Akira has just enough time to run his hand discreetly along Akechi’s before he pulls away just as Ryuji looks up from his phone. Suddenly the blonde looks extremely tired and pissed off at the same time.  
  
“It took Suzui,” he announces.  
  
None of them sleep that night.  
  
* * *  
  
They all go to Ann’s in the morning. They find Ann wrapped up on her bed with Futaba nearby. They can’t call the police. Not when the police are already suspicious of Ann as it is and none of them can explain how any of this has happened. It’s just too much.  
  
“She just…” Ann shivers and reaches for Ryuji’s arm once he gets close enough. He sits on the bed and lets her hide her face in his arm. Whatever comfort she needs, he can give but he doesn’t know how to deal with this either. None of them do.  
  
Akechi pinches the bridge of his nose and Akira looks around the room. It’s normal, not cold, no sign of what happened the night before and yet the absence of both Shiho and Morgana is felt by all of them.  
  
“To summarise,” Yusuke sighs, trying to ignore the way Ann is cuddling up to Ryuji “There is a thing, a shadow, that can come out of the Metaverse and it is coming for all of us. Given what we can theorise about the disappearance of Rise, she was part of a previous generation of possible persona users and they have probably all disappeared. Am I missing anything?”  
  
Ann shivers and looks at Akira “Is she….Is Shiho...I mean did that thing...kill her?”  
  
Akira feels a very familiar sense of frustration. He doesn’t know enough, none of them do and to add salt to the wound, Loki is bound to contact them later to get them to do what he wants. If he’s connected at all to the Tani that is going around taking them all, it doesn’t seem very smart to let it take the people he needs to use.  
  
The possibility is that the Tani and Loki are not linked at all. But then that just means that they have threats coming from two different sides and it’s not at all comforting.  
  
“She may still be alive,” Futaba says, her laptop is humming on the bed next to her but she ignores it as she turns her eyes to the others “Remember what Shiho said. She was helped into her persona powers by that senpai guy. Narukami Yu. He was already in the Metaverse when she met him and he got her out because he couldn’t get out himself. But he was still alive, wasn’t he? If the...thing...took him first, it left him in the Metaverse. Maybe that’s where everyone else is too.”  
  
Akira still hears Minato telling him they’re dead. They’re all dead. But then how was Narukami able to teach Shiho how to use her powers if he’d been dead?  
  
All of this is simply aggravating his headache.  
  
“So…” Ryuji tries to latch onto this theory “If we go into the Metaverse, we might be able to find them?”  
  
“The Metaverse isn’t exactly small…” Yusuke points out but he shuts up when Ryuji glares at him. Right now they need something, anything to hold onto other than the all-encompassing fear that something they cannot fight is coming after them all.  
  
“We’re eventually going to have to go back,” Akira finally speaks up “Ann can’t leave Tokyo and we can’t stay here. Has anyone contacted Makoto or Haru?”  
  
“Not yet,” Ann sniffs and rubs at her face.  
  
“We’ll see if something can be arranged,” Akira continues, eyeing Ann warily “I know none of us can fight this thing but you can’t be alone. We’re being threatened by a persona user named Loki. If anything, he’s our way into the Metaverse and we may be able to find out what’s going on.”  
  
Akechi doesn’t seem impressed but he also knows there’s not a hell of a lot any of them can do about their situation.  
  
It sucks all around.  
  
Akira rubs his face and looks over the remaining members of his group. If he and the others are to leave tonight and return home again, the least he can do is make sure the Tokyo group is taken care of.  
  
“Yusuke, Ryuji, stay with Ann today,” he decides “Futaba, Ishida, I have a job for you.”  
  
Futaba nods and looks at Akira and Akechi “What are you two going to do?”  
  
“I think we have someone we need to meet,” Akechi answers, reading Akira’s mind as he always does.  
  
Akira nods and offers one small reassuring smile to Ann “We’ll meet up again tonight. Hopefully by then we might have some answers.”  
  
* * *  
  
The weight of the atmosphere around Shiho is hard to describe. It’s like the gravity of the earth is doubled, like it’s hard to get up and walk without feeling double the weight. It’s like a tasteless thickness in the air that makes it hard to breathe.  
  
It’s so distinctive that despite only having been in the Metaverse once, Shiho already knows where she is before she even opens her eyes.  
  
She recognises Shibuya Station. Only it’s not as she’s ever seen it. Red and blue vines shoot up from the ground, curling and winding up the walls, around every pole in sight and shooting up into the white and red skies. The walkway is empty, there is no one around and when Shiho sits up, she notices tiny little insects on the ground underneath her.  
  
They look like spiders, mass amounts of them and they ignore her as they scurry in every which direction. Shiho pushes herself up onto her feet and looks around the familiar surroundings of the station.  
  
God knows she’s been here many times. But it’s never been like this.  
  
“Oh good,” a familiar voice makes her turn around “You’re awake.”  
  
Narukami Yu stands behind her. He has two small bottles of water in his hands and gives one to her. Shiho takes it but she’s stunned. He looks just the same as when she last saw him. Same silver hair, same clothes even. The only thing that is different about him is that he somehow manages to look a little more tired than before. Dark circles appearing under his eyes.  
  
“Yu,” she breathes in disbelief and steps closer to him “Was that….did you bring me here?”  
  
“It’s a long story,” Yu explains and takes a sip of his own water “A very long one. I managed to buy some time. The shadows won’t notice you’re here for awhile, should give me enough time to talk.”  
  
Shiho nods. She could use an explanation. Hell, at this point she could use a long and descriptive encyclopedia of everything that’s happening. Confusion has become an emotion she’s felt every single day and she wants answers just like everyone else does.  
  
They find a spot to sit in and Shiho can’t stop looking at Yu. The last time she’d seen him, he’d rushed out of a window to save her and she’d feared he was dead. Everything she’s heard and everything the others have speculated would suggest so and yet here he is, clear as day before her.  
  
The only hitch of it is, they’re in the Metaverse.  
  
“There are shadows after all of us,” Yu explains as he sets his water bottle aside “All persona users.”  
  
“I gathered as much,” Shiho replies seriously “They’ve already started attacking us.”  
  
Yu winces and he shakes his head “Yes...and no,” he notes Shiho’s confusion and sighs “Yes, shadows have been coming after you. But no, they’re not actually...they’re not there for the reasons you think they’re there.”  
  
Shiho stares and Yu looks at her, a little guilty “That shadow that came after you, when you were with the cat the other night...that wasn’t a shadow. That was me.”  
  
Shiho remembers that. She remembers being in Akira’s place, she remembers Morgana waking up first and hissing at the enormous dark shadow that had appeared and she remembers being scared out of her mind but not once did it ever occur to her that the shadow might have been Yu.  
  
“The shadow that brought you here. That was me,” Yu admits quietly “I didn’t realise that was what I was doing. I didn’t know.”  
  
“How did you not know?” Shiho frowns “There was this enormous dark shadow in the room, it sucked all the warmth out and it...it didn’t look like you. How did you not realise that was what you were doing?”  
  
“Because I don’t remember doing it,” Yu replies “I don’t remember doing any of it. I remember flashes of faces, I remember small bits of things I’ve done but I don’t remember having any control at the time. It’s like something takes over me and I have to…” he pauses and looks at Shiho “I came after you deliberately. I needed to warn you, to tell you things so that you could avoid them. But I couldn’t control myself when I took…” he stops and Shiho puts the pieces together herself.  
  
There was a reason why Rise had said ‘senpai’ right before she’d disappeared from her bathroom. It was because she’d seen him. Because the shadow that had taken her away was Yu himself.  
  
“Where is Rise?” Shiho asks “It was you who took her right? Where did you take her?”  
  
Yu shakes his head “I don’t remember,” he tells her “Something took over me. When I enter the real world again, I can’t use my body so I come out as a….a monster. A shadow. When I came after Rise, I was being controlled. When I came after you, I did it myself.”  
  
Shiho looks around. The Metaverse is a strange place, not just how it looks but how it feels. It’s warm, but not in a comforting way, more in a stuffy and humid sort of way. Things move every now and then and the air itself feels heavy, as though under pressure. She knows she should feel afraid but somehow she’s not.  
  
She turns back to Yu and nods “Okay,” she says “Tell me everything.”  
  
A wry grin spreads across Yu’s face and Shiho blinks. He looks like he somehow knows a secret she’s yet to figure out.  
  
“What?” she asks, feeling just a little self-conscious.  
  
Yu shakes his head “Nothing,” he tells her “It’s just nice to see you again.”  
  
* * *  
  
Dome Town hasn’t changed at all. The warmth in the air hints at the impending Japanese summer and as Ryuji, Ann and Yusuke wander past school girls on dates, foreigners shopping at the anime stores and businessmen who don’t look where they’re going, Ryuji can’t help but feel like this is the worst idea.  
  
“We should be doing something,” he says to the other two “Something more...useful…”  
  
“Such as?” Yusuke raises an eyebrow and Ryuji grits his teeth, the frustration coursing through him is almost unbearable.  
  
Ann looks up “I get why you’re annoyed, Ryuji, but there is literally nothing we can do,” she says in an almost defeated tone “Morgana and Shiho are gone, we’re being chased by something we can’t fight, what are we going to do? Find a way into the Metaverse?”  
  
“Anything is better than wandering through Dome Town as if all this shit ain’t happening!” Ryuji growls.  
  
“We came here because it was better than sitting inside and letting our minds think over the worst case scenario,” Yusuke reminds him firmly “Ann’s right, there is nothing we can do and it’s frustrating but that’s what we’re dealing with. Unless you have a better idea…”  
  
Ryuji almost suggests fighting just for the hell of it but upon seeing the look on Ann’s face, he lets it go and looks around instead. He sighs “I don’t feel like a roller coaster ride.”  
  
“Well maybe-” Ann begins but falls silent when she sees a familiar mop of dark hair in the crowd ahead. She tilts her head, her eyes widening when she recognises Sora’s tiny figure coming through the crowds. Yusuke recognises him as well, it’s only Ryuji who needs a moment to put the pieces together.  
  
“Ann-chan,” Sora greets her when he reaches them “Fancy meeting you here.”  
  
“What are you doing here?” Ann asks. From what little she knows of Sora, she’d pictured him as more of a hermit who wouldn’t like areas like this.  
  
“I had a shoot,” Sora gestures to the ferris wheel behind him “My manager had to drag me out here. He’s probably somewhere near the gates wondering where I am.”  
  
Ryuji raises an eyebrow but says nothing as Sora’s sunbeam smile is aimed straight at Ann.  
  
Ann blinks and gestures to her friends “This is Yusuke and this is Ryuji,” she tells Sora “They’re friends of mine.”  
  
“Hi,” Sora beams at them both with a polite nod “I’m Sora. Sorry to cut this short but I was in the middle of running away and the aim of that is to get as far away from something as possible,” he pointed back at the ferris wheel “If you see a stuffed shirt man looking very tired, tell him I went to Hokkaido.”  
  
He slips past the group and disappears towards the road just as Ann spots his tired agent pushing through the crowd.  
  
“Maybe we shouldn’t be here when he gets here,” Yusuke mutters and Ann nods. Worst case scenario, they’d be held responsible for letting Sora escape in the first place.  
  
“Hey!” the agent calls through the crowd, spotting them “Stop!”  
  
Ryuji grabs Ann’s hand and runs after Sora with Yusuke close behind them. When they see Sora waiting for them at Suidobashi station, Ryuji growls at him.  
  
“You totally set us up!” he scowls.  
  
“Less scolding, more running,” Sora chuckles and sprints with them through the gates. They rush onto the train and watch the doors close just before his agent can get inside.  
  
Sora’s still laughing and Ryuji notices a relieved grin on Ann’s face as well. Despite the situation they’re in, a burst of energy like this had made her smile and that was the only reason why Ryuji wasn’t completely mad at Sora. Accidental though this had been, it had worked in taking her mind off things for a moment.  
  
They sat down on the available seats and Ryuji distantly notices some people - namely teenage girls - are recognising Sora, some taking pictures with their phones and whispering about him. None are exactly subtle about it.  
  
“So,” Ann says, a little breathless “Where are we going?”  
  
“Harajuku,” Sora beams “I think after that, I need pancakes.”  
  
Yusuke exchanges a look with Ryuji and the two prepare themselves for the hell that is Harajuku on a Sunday.  
  
* * *  
  
Sitting in a familiar diner in Shibuya, Akira notes how the crowd thins out in the hours between lunch and dinner. They’d normally be kicked out of their booth after a certain amount of time if there were too many customers waiting but to his relief, that isn’t the case yet.  
  
Beside him, Akechi nurses a cup of coffee and winces after one sip. He puts it down “It’s official, I can’t drink anything other than LeBlanc coffee.”  
  
“Snob,” Akira snorts and Akechi kicks him under the table.  
  
“Clearly you severely underappreciated the rich aroma that was Sakura-san’s coffee,” he sniffs “I meant it when I said you were extremely lucky to live in that cafe and have that coffee every day. It’s why I became such a loyal customer.”  
  
Akira looks at him. He remembers how Akechi used to come to the coffee shop and just sit there at the bench with his coffee. Often moping by himself for two hours before he’d finally go home. Granted it was when the world was against him for a plot he’d designed but Akira knew better than to think it was all just an act. Akechi couldn’t have spent all that time pretending to be downtrodden just to get Akira to trust and pity him, there was more to it.  
  
“When I came home sometimes, you were already there,” Akira points out quietly “Sitting at the bench, coffee in hand, eyes far away.”  
  
“I was thinking,” Akechi defends himself.  
  
“About what?” Akira presses “Why did it always have to be right there in front of the door too? You could have chosen a booth, they’re more comfortable. Or the other side of the bench closer to the TV, but instead you chose the one nearest the door.”  
  
Akechi is silent for a long moment, eyes far away in thought like they used to be back in LeBlanc but when he looks back at Akira, his eyes are clear and there’s a resolve set in them.  
  
“Because I knew you’d see me first when you came home,” Akechi says gently “I wanted that.”  
  
Akira blinks “You wanted my attention?”  
  
“I wanted you to think about me.”  
  
There it is and although it’s not much of a revelation considering the fact that they’ve been sort of, kind of, slightly, seeing each other, it’s still a quiet confession of what’s been bubbling between them since before Akira even realised Akechi was going to betray him. The silent and unspoken feeling that if they hadn’t been who they were, if Akechi hadn’t been trying to get Akira killed and if their circumstances had been different, they could have been friends. Maybe even lovers, long before all of this happened.  
  
What Akechi had wanted was to be needed. For someone to want him around, to be enough for someone because he wasn’t enough for either of his parents.  
  
The tragedy was, the one person he could have found all of that in was the person he was trying to kill last year.  
  
“Goro,” Akira lowers his voice a little and leans in “Everything’s changed. We’re not the same people we were last year.”  
  
Akechi watches him and it makes Akira a little uneasy to see the other doesn’t believe him “We aren’t?” he asks quietly, his hand touching Akira’s under the table “Have you forgiven me already?”  
  
Akira can’t believe Akechi has to ask that. After everything, after all they went through, after how they parted and he thought Akechi was dead. There was nothing in any of those encounters that could have even possibly hinted that he still held a grudge against Akechi for everything he’d done. The same went for the others as well, they’d forgiven Akechi the moment they knew why he’d done it.  
  
Akira lets his fingers curl a little against Akechi’s and shakes his head “I think you’re the one who has to forgive you,” he points out quietly and frowns a little “Really. What’s going on? You’ve been quiet on me for awhile now. I’m supposed to be the silent one. That’s my thing.”  
  
It makes Akechi smile at least and if they weren’t in public, Akira may have kissed him just to see that smile again.  
  
It’s kind of scary the things he’d willingly do to see Akechi Goro smile. But in his opinion, the guy had already suffered more than enough. They all had and they were still going through this same bullshit. They didn’t have time to close up on each other, not now when they needed each other to get through whatever was chasing them all.  
  
Akechi looks at him and for just a moment, the look in his eyes is warm. Almost like the first time they’d met and all the times afterwards when he’d approach Akira with that warm smile of his. There was always something else underneath, something neither spoke of but both of them felt just as strongly. If the fates had given them the chance to be anything other than rivals last year, they might have taken it. No matter how one looked at it, it was a god who had fated for them to meet, one way or another.  
  
Akira wonders if the god had taken into account that Akechi had survived the encounter.  
  
But when Akechi spots Makoto and Haru come into the restaurant, the moment is gone and he lets go of Akira’s hand just as the girls approach the table.  
  
“Sorry we’re late,” Makoto says, taking of her jacket as she scoots into the booth with Haru behind her “I had a class and Haru had a meeting and...neither of us could think straight after what you told us.”  
  
“I can’t believe Morgana…” Haru shakes her head sadly “Are you sure he’s gone?”  
  
“We can’t be 100% about anything but given the facts that some things have been chasing us, I think it’s safe to assume Morgana was taken by one of them,” Akechi explains calmly.  
  
Akira notes the look of utter devastation on Haru’s face and the look of concern on Makoto’s face. He’s worried too, but there’s nothing they can do. They can’t sit and worry and right now, they don’t have the power to just return to the Metaverse and look for Morgana themselves. This isn’t like last year when they could just head into Mementos, someone else is holding the key.  
  
“How’s Ann?” Makoto asks “I mean with her friend…”  
  
Akira shakes his head and he watches the same uncomfortable expression pass both Makoto and Haru as they think about it. After all, they hadn’t been there. They hadn’t been there to help protect either Shiho or Morgana but when Akira thinks about it, he doubts they’d have been able to.  
  
None of them seem to be any match for these things chasing them.  
  
“We’re sorry,” Haru says anyway, her soft voice shaking a little as she stares down at the table “It’s because we’ve been busy-”  
  
“You wouldn’t have been able to help,” Akechi tells her straight “What’s happening now would have happened even if you two were still in school.”  
  
“Even so,” Haru begins and shifts a little in her seat.  
  
Akira nods and leans forward “The reason why we called you two in was because we can’t stay in Tokyo and Ann can’t leave Tokyo. Yusuke already knows to keep an eye on her but where possible, we’d like you two to keep an eye on her as well.”  
  
“Of course,” Makoto nods “We’d have done that even if you hadn’t asked us to.”  
  
“There’s something else as well,” Akechi continues as if he’s on the same wavelength as Akira “Realistically, we Phantom Thieves cannot work as a collective group anymore. It’s just not possible when we’re split in half and living in different cities. Ignoring the danger that is coming our way is not practical, so we’re going to have to work as two separate groups if we want to find what’s coming after us.”  
  
Makoto gets it right away, of course she does, her instincts have not dulled over the last year and if anything, they’ve sharpened. But it takes Haru a moment to catch up on what Akechi is telling her.  
  
“You mean…” Haru frowns and looks at Akira “Two groups?”  
  
“By the looks of it, shadows are coming after all of us and it’s not discriminating which town to attack,” Akechi continues “Working as two groups would be the most effective way to combat it.”  
  
“Agreed,” Makoto nods but Akira catches the way her eyes keep shifting between him and Akechi. As if she’s trying to figure something out - or she has figured it out and she doesn’t know if she should say anything yet or not.  
  
He has a feeling he knows what’s on her mind too.  
  
The waiter comes to their table before she can say anything and disrupts all of them with a smile and a very pointed “Your order?” as if the fact that Akechi and Akira have been sitting at the same table for the last twenty minutes without ordering anything more than a cup of coffee has been something bad.  
  
Haru quickly orders a tea to shoo him off and when he’s gone, she turns back to Akira “So I suppose then, someone should be the leader of this side of the group,” she proposes gently “It could be like a faction. A Tokyo faction.”  
  
Akira nods and glances at Makoto again. The candidate for a Tokyo leader is actually quite obvious. The Tokyo group of Phantom Thieves consists of Makoto, Haru, Yusuke and Ann. Of the four of them, it only makes sense to make Makoto the leader. Whilst Haru herself also displays leadership qualities, her gentle disposition isn’t actually going to help against the shadows and quick-fire decision making.  
  
“So,” Akechi smiles pleasantly, as if reading Akira’s mind “Niijima-san, are you up for it?”  
  
“You can call me Makoto,” the girl points out quietly but she nods. She’s still looking at Akira as though she’s seen something - or confirmed something - and she doesn’t know whether to bring it up or not.  
  
But then the waiter comes back and interrupts them all again. Akira wonders if they should have met at a Karaoke bar instead.  
  
* * *  
  
Harajuku on a normal day is somewhat bearable. Particularly Takeshita Street, a long pedestrian walkthrough filled with all the shops that make the area itself famous. Odd fashion, tourist gems, cute toys and enough sweets to satisfy the sweetest tooth. It’s a long street dedicated to the subculture that Tokyo is somewhat famous for and on the weekday it’s actually not bad to wander around in.  
  
However, in the weekend - particularly on Sundays - Takeshita Street is a nightmare and Ryuji finds himself grumbling when he pushes his way through the crowd. Evidently, everyone always has the same idea to go straight to Harajuku in the weekend.  
  
“Come in,” a grinning man says to Ryuji as he tries to push his menu in Ryuji’s hands “Take a look at our stuff.”  
  
Ryuji pushes the menu off and worms his way closer to Ann as they work their way through the street. It’s narrow and on a working day, it’s not hard to walk through but when everyone and their dog comes to Harajuku in the weekend, the street is so crowded that walking through it is somewhat similar to voluntarily objecting oneself to going through a crowded tube. He has to keep walking because there’s an entire wave of people behind him trying to get through Takeshita but there’s another wave right in front of him who aren’t walking nearly as fast as he wants them to.  
  
“Why are we here again?” Ryuji grumbles to Ann. He’d take the vomit rides in Dome Town over this torture.  
  
“Good question, why was that again?” Ann - who doesn’t seem at all bothered by the crowd - asks Sora.  
  
“Pancakes,” Sora’s eyes widen with an almost childish hunger and he takes Ann’s wrist in his hand “I know this great place, they sell the fluffiest pancakes you could ever imagine.”  
  
Ryuji glances at Yusuke, who seems just as unimpressed by the crowds but he can’t get away either. Harder than walking in this hell is actually trying to get out of it when the crowd wants you to go forward.  
  
One of the street callers - people to be truly avoided in Harajuku - approaches Yusuke and Ryuji quickly reaches over to snatch his wrist and pull him away before he can be accosted by the man. That’s another thing Ryuji hates about Takeshita, all the damn street callers.  
  
“There!” Sora points to the second floor of a suspiciously pink looking building in the midway point. It’s kind of hard to tell what any of the second floor shops are when the first floor ones are so loud with their advertising. Most tourists miss the really good shops due to the overwhelming nature and Ryuji is kind of guilty of not caring at all.  
  
Still, he pushes his way through the crowd with Ann and Sora, Yusuke’s wrist tight in his grip as they push against people trying to go the other way, people stopping and not considering the crowd that still wants to walk and the ever-lasting wave of people behind them still wanting to get through Takeshita. Ryuji follows Ann’s blonde hair until they finally get out of the main current of people and into the side part where people aren’t walking.  
  
“I hate Harajuku,” Ryuji grumbles, he looks down and belatedly realises he’s been holding onto Yusuke’s wrist.  
  
Yusuke himself has a pink face and he can’t tell if it’s because of the heat and the crowds or because Ryuji’s been holding onto his wrist for the last minute.  
  
“Sorry,” Ryuji lets go and frowns “But seriously dude, don’t let the street callers catch you!”  
  
“This is the place,” Sora points up a flight of stairs that lead to a second floor landing where a door, painted in baby blue, has an ‘OPEN’ sign and typical of many shops, it doesn’t actually have any other markings that indicate at all that it is actually a shop.  
  
Sora leads the group up and the first scent that hits Ryuji’s nose upon entering is the strong scent of sugar. The place itself is decked out like a restaurant. Little tables and booths litter the main area with a kitchen blocked off at the back. A tiny woman dressed in a blue dress and white apron smiles at them all from behind her stall and she seems to recognise Sora in particular as she gestures to an empty booth.  
  
“Welcome!” she chirps happily “Take a seat, we’ll bring you a menu!”  
  
The four of them gratefully slip into the booth and Ryuji’s just happy that they’re out of the crowd. He ends up sitting next to Ann whilst Sora and Yusuke take the other side of the table. Ryuji groans happily and rests his head against the back of the booth seat “I hate Harajuku,” he breathes.  
  
Sora looks sympathetic, a small wry grin painting his pretty features as the waitress brings them their menus and sets them on the table.  
  
“Yes,” Sora hums in agreement “Takeshita in particular can be a chore.”  
  
“Then why suggest it?” Yusuke asks, his wrist still a little pink from how hard Ryuji had been holding onto it. He tries not to think about the pathetic idea that Ryuji just touching him for one minute had sent his heart beating like a teenage girl with unrealistic fantasies. It’s bad enough he dreams about the guy, he doesn’t need to react so badly to every move Ryuji makes.  
  
“I love pancakes,” Sora beams at him “And crepes, candy….basically I have a serious sweet tooth.”  
  
“Me too,” Ann smiles and that’s the only reason why Ryuji doesn’t protest more. She’s actually enjoying this. He watches her pour over the menu and finds himself worrying - prematurely - about what’s going to happen to her when he leaves Tokyo.  
  
They order four set menus (and it takes Yusuke and Ryuji a little longer to decide. Ryuji because everything sweet looks disgusting and Yusuke because he’s not nearly as keen on sweets as Sora) but when the waitress flutters off, Ryuji turns his eyes to the cause of them being here in the first place.  
  
“Do you always run away from your manager like that?” he asks “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything but you’re probably a pain in the ass to manage.”  
  
“How can I not take that the wrong way?” Sora laughs, he leans back in the booth and shrugs “Let’s just say...I’m not the best talent to manage and I don’t like having my day planned out minute by minute. Before I ran into you guys, I’d already done three photoshoots and two interviews. I had five more planned this afternoon and I didn’t want to do any of it.”  
  
Ann watches him curiously “Was it the fashion show?” she asks.  
  
Sora nods “I got a lot of attention after that and my agent rode on it. He accepted everything without asking me and suddenly I had a schedule full of things I had to do.”  
  
“Well,” Yusuke speaks, sounding like he’s stopping himself from being as blunt as he wants to be “There’s always two sides to work. You cannot just pick and choose which parts you want to do.”  
  
“All I want to do is sing,” Sora points out calmly “And it doesn’t actually matter to me whether my audience has two thousand people or only two people. That’s what my agent cares about.”  
  
None of them point out the obvious. Of course his agent cares about that. It means money.  
  
“What were you three doing in Dome Town?” Sora asks, changing the subject easily “Two guys and a girl. You realise that area is a date spot, right?”  
  
Ann glances at both Ryuji and Yusuke. She laughs “They’re my friends,” she explains “They were…” she falters as if just remembering what they were doing there in the first place. She hasn’t forgotten that Shiho was taken away from her that morning but it barely feels like it even happened. It’s so shocking and it’s such a hard thing to think about, her mind just wants to automatically imagine it never happened.  
  
She feels numb just thinking that Shiho is gone.  
  
“We were out, that’s all,” Yusuke covers for her expertly “We were catching up with Ryuji,” he gestures to the blonde boy “He’s only in Tokyo until the end of today after all.”  
  
Ryuji isn’t listening. He’s watching Ann and the raw look on her face tells him immediately that although she’s been distracted, she hasn’t forgotten anything. He knew she wouldn’t. After all he’d known both Ann and Shiho since middle school, they’d been the closest of friends. The reality that Shiho was taken away that morning by something they can’t identify doesn’t even feel real. He hasn’t even thought about what they’re going to tell Shiho’s parents when they return from Tokyo.  
  
Under the table, Ryuji’s hand gently finds Ann’s and it’s not even a conscious move. He just wanted to comfort her somehow. Still the shock of their fingers touching makes Ann look up, for a moment all Ryuji sees is confusion in her big blue eyes.  
  
Ryuji almost takes it back. A quick fear takes over him and suddenly he wonders if he wasn’t supposed to do that, if he should have kept his distance, if he shouldn’t touch her at all but before he can pull his hand away, Ann’s fingers close over his, a silent invitation. There’s nothing in Ann’s eyes that wants him to pull away and in fact if anything, she seems to welcome the gesture.  
  
For some reason, Ryuji’s heart is beating insanely hard.  
  
He takes a small breath and smiles, trying his hardest to reassure her that against all odds, it’s going to be okay because he’s there. It’s all he can do and he can’t even really promise he’ll always be there because he has to go but he wants to promise something. Anything.  
  
She seems to get it anyway because she smiles and squeezes his hand.  
  
On the other side of the table, Yusuke tries to ignore the small spike of pain he feels upon seeing the two of them. He tries to ignore them and instead turns his eyes to Sora who seems to also have noticed the exchange but isn’t saying anything on it either.  
  
“So,” Sora says to Yusuke “Tell me about yourself then. I’m afraid I don’t have much experience in the way of friends.”  
  
Yusuke can sort of relate to that - given how he hadn’t actually gone out of his way to make friends until after he found out what Madarame was doing to him. The Phantom Thieves, Akira, Ryuji and Ann in particular, were his first friends. The ones who taught him what it was like to even have friends, people he cared about. It was a lesson in itself and one he’s slightly regretting given how the scene on the other side of the table hurts him.  
  
Sora smiles at him and Yusuke doesn’t really know what to make of him but there’s nothing inherently harmful about Sora. In fact if anything, he seems just as quietly lonely as Yusuke used to be and sometimes still is.  
  
Perhaps a new friend wouldn’t be such a bad thing.  
  
* * *  
  
At Haru’s insistence, she pays for the visit at the diner. Akechi excuses himself to the bathroom, leaving Makoto and Akira alone at the door whilst Haru goes to the counter to pay. Akira hitches his bag up on his shoulder and looks around.  
  
Shibuya hasn’t changed much since last year.  
  
“Hey,” Makoto speaks up “I wanted to ask…”  
  
Akira looks at her and for a very uncharacteristic moment, Makoto almost looks lost. Like she wants to ask but she either doesn’t know how to phrase it or she doesn’t really know if she wants to ask at all. She takes a breath and faces him properly “That...what I saw there...was that really what I saw?”  
  
Akira blinks. That’s about as cryptic as Makoto gets. He tilts his head and Makoto frowns “I know you know what I’m talking about. Maybe it’s none of my business but...I wanted to know. I’m concerned. For you.”  
  
“You’re talking about Goro,” Akira glances at the bathroom doors and something shifts in Makoto’s eyes, like a confirmation.  
  
“Yes,” she says as Haru comes back to them “Did I see that? Is it...I mean…”  
  
She doesn’t even sound like she really wants to breach this, after all she’s right, this is none of her business. Prying into Akira’s love life is uncomfortable. But she’s determined.  
  
“I’m just worried,” she states “We know what Akechi-kun went through last year and it was awful. He sacrificed his life to save all of us and there is no bad blood between us regarding how he tried to have us all killed...I just...I’m worried about you. I want - as a friend - to make sure you know what you’re doing.”  
  
Akira doesn’t even really need to think about it. He’s a quiet kind of person but he’s not dumb or blind to the way Akechi has always affected him. Even before this entire mess began, before Akechi really knew he was behind anything to do with the Phantom Thieves, he’d felt it the first second he saw him.  
  
“I’m okay,” he assures Makoto “I know what I’m doing.”  
  
It’s his tone that makes her smile in relief. Haru too. The girls take him at his word and Haru beams.  
  
“Well then, we won’t question you further on it,” she promises and heads for the door.  
  
Makoto nods, accepting what he’d said and steps back a little “It’s kind of strange,” she admits “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I could have sworn last year you could have gone out with any one of us. Even Ann and none of us would have minded.”  
  
Given how deep all his relationships with the girls got, she’s probably not wrong.  
  
She leaves the diner after Haru and Akira glances at the bathroom doors where Akechi had disappeared. He thinks about the fact that Akechi has been hiding something from him lately and he knows not to push it. There are a lot of things on Akechi’s mind and he’s not the only one. Given the circumstances, they’re all worried.  
  
But he can’t help but wonder what Akechi’s thinking about and if he realises that Akira can read him painfully well. But not well enough to pick out what exactly is bothering him.  
  
All this time he’s had to deepen relationships, strengthen Personas and not once has he ever stopped to think about how a romantic relationship would work there. He almost wishes it worked the same as his friendships.  
  
* * *  
  
They meet up again at the end of the day at Tokyo Station. Akira leans against the wall of the station, watching Makoto talking to Akechi about something and Haru doing something on her phone as Ann, Ryuji and Yusuke finally arrive.  
  
“Finally,” Makoto says as the group arrive “Took your time.”  
  
“Excuse me for forgetting what Tokyo trains were like,” Ryuji coughs “There were delays.”  
  
Ann looks around “Hang on, Futaba? Ishida? Where are they?”  
  
“Should be here soon,” Akira promises. He’d received a rushed and emoji-filled message from Futaba twenty minutes ago.  
  
They form a small circle in the space they have. Tokyo Station is as crowded as ever, with people going around in all directions, getting to different lines, finding exits. Akira and his group are hidden in a tiny space between Starbucks and the exit where people usually gather to meet.  
  
“So the plan,” Makoto announces “For now, is to stick together and try to work out what’s going on to the best of our abilities. I’m no Akira, but I’ll do my best.”  
  
“We’ll still work as a group, it’s just that since we’re separated, we should work as two small groups unless something comes up,” Akira adds “When we find out more about what’s going on in the Metaverse and how to get in there, we’ll find a way to meet up again.”  
  
It’s not the ideal solution but it’s the best one they have for now.  
  
Ann looks resigned and Yusuke does not miss the way she sort of leans into Ryuji a little more. Since that moment in Harajuku, something unspoken had happened and Yusuke tries not to think about how this was sort of bubbling under the surface for awhile anyway.  
  
They look up when they spot a long mane of ginger hair. Futaba rushes to the group, out of breath and pink in the face.  
  
“I hate Tokyo Station,” she gasps “Too many people!”  
  
Ishida follows in behind her, followed by a fluffy haired boy Akira hasn’t seen in awhile. He smiles when he recognises Mishima right behind Ishida.  
  
“Good to see you again,” he states.  
  
“Akira,” Mishima almost looks surprised. He stops and looks around the entire group “I….ok.”  
  
“I told you what was going on, did you forget all of that?” Futaba growls. She turns to Akira “Anyway, mission accomplished.”  
  
“What’s Mishima doing here?” Makoto asks with a small frown.  
  
Mishima straightens himself up and bows “I am here to offer my services once more as manager to the Phantom Thieves,” he says and a look of utter determination fixes itself on his face “I will do everything in my power to make sure the world knows there is only one true group of Phantom Thieves and they are just.”  
  
Ryuji raises his eyebrow “That’s the plan?” he asks Akira “To make the Phantom Thieves famous again?”  
  
Akira shrugs. He has the plan firmly in his mind and it works out that Mishima was always on the outside of the group anyway. He’s not in any immediate danger of shadows and his support had helped them immensely last year. If nothing else, his blog and attention could serve as a distraction whilst Akira hunted out what was really coming after them.  
  
The overhead speakers announce the last bullet train out of Tokyo and it’s their cue.  
  
“We should get going then,” Futaba announces and looks around “Everyone please stay safe.”  
  
The group nod but no one looks easy about this. After all, together or apart, they’re still in danger from something unknown and the fact is that they’ve lost Shiho and Morgana. It almost doesn’t feel real how they had both of them yesterday and they don’t have them today.  
  
Ryuji puts his arm around Ann, for what little comfort he can offer the loss of her friend. She pulls him into a hug and Ryuji can’t help but think that as horrible as this situation is, maybe he was always supposed to be here in Ann’s arms.  
  
Yusuke tries not to look as uncomfortable as he feels and turns to Akira instead “Be safe,” he tells him “The second you find out anything…”  
  
“I’ll tell you,” Akira promises.  
  
The group say their goodbyes with all of the girls, including Ann, hugging Akira goodbye. Then as Ryuji, Futaba, Ishida, Akechi and Akira step through the ticket gates and head towards their bullet train, Akira watches his Tokyo group waving until he can’t see them anymore.  
  
It doesn’t put him at ease, at all, to leave them there.  
  
They get onto the train, take their seats and it’s not until they’re seated and safe that Akechi huffs.  
  
“Ladies man,” he mutters under his breath.  
  
Akira snorts and leans back in his seat. One day he ought to tell Akechi that even his teacher had the hots for him at one point.  
  
The train starts and Ryuji fidgets. He takes a deep breath and looks at Akira “What are we gonna tell Suzui’s parents?”  
  
Akira doesn’t answer. He’s still wondering what happened to Morgana.  
  
* * *  
  
“They’re not looking for you,” Yu explains. He and Shiho are hidden. Sitting in a tiny little spot against the wall of the subway. The Metaverse atmosphere is heavy, it’s dark and it’s humid but he’d brought Shiho here to explain everything.  
  
In the hopes that it would change something.  
  
“Something has taken over the Metaverse,” Yu says as he watches the girl in front of him “Something powerful. I don’t know what it is but...last time something messed with the Metaverse it was a god. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case this time too. Whatever it is, it’s been coming after Persona users. It snatched the three generations of users before me and has nearly eliminated everyone in my group.”  
  
Shiho nods. Every now and then she hears creaks or groans coming from the darkest corners of the subway and if she’d been alone, this would have been terrifying. For some reason, since Yu is there, Shiho doesn’t feel the least bit afraid.  
  
“Once this thing has everyone in my group, he will come after your group. Starting with your leader,” Yu continues “It got me first so I couldn’t save any of my friends.It got me, it’s using me to take my friends.”  
  
Shiho thinks of the shadows that had been attacking. The one that had attacked Rise. That was Yu, being controlled by something else.  
  
“If these things grab your leader, Kurusu, they will use his body to take everyone else,” Yu says “Something about him, something about all of us. We’re the leaders because we’re different, whatever this thing is, it’s using that to take all persona users.”  
  
Shiho frowns “So...it needs Kurusu-kun?”  
  
“Yes,” Yu nods “Just as it needed me. If it had taken someone like Rise first, her body would not have been able to come back into the real world to take the other Persona users. Whatever this thing is, it’s using my body because….I guess I’m different.”  
  
That’s the only thing that explains it. Yu was different. Akira was different. The other leaders were probably different too.  
  
“So what can we do?” Shiho asks. Given that information, they’re kind of helpless against a god.  
  
Yu shifts “As I said. They don’t know about you. I don’t know why, but you….they have no idea you’re a Persona user.”  
  
Shiho looks confused “How do you know?”  
  
“Something about this,” Yu frowns as he thinks about it “Whatever that thing is, that’s taking over my body and making me kill my friends, it’s almost like just as he takes over me, I can read his mind. I know what he intends to do next. I know what he wants to do. Which is why I know he’s coming after Kurusu in due time but he has no idea about you.”  
  
Shiho remembers the letter the Phantom Thieves had received from Loki. He’d listed all their names. All but Shiho.  
  
Shiho shakes her head “I haven’t even used my powers enough to know what I’m doing,” she points out “That’s not much of a defense.”  
  
“No,” Yu agrees “But it’s something. Your group is up against something unknown, maybe even a god. In those circumstances, your best chance is the element of surprise.”  
  
They pause when they hear something groan. Like a heavy point of creaking metal somewhere far off in the subway. It’s sort of creepy how eerie and quiet the subway is. Shiho would never get used to it.  
  
“So what happens to you when it uses you to get every single person in your group?” Shiho asks, almost afraid to hear the answer.  
  
Yu watches her, a sad hue in his eyes. He shakes his head and that’s all the answer she needs.  
  
“Can I stop it from using you?” she asks “What if I kept it from using your body to take your friends? Then it would never finish your generation and move onto mine, right?”  
  
“I’m not sure it works like that,” Yu answers but for once he doesn’t sound absolutely sure of what he’s saying.  
  
“Let’s try it,” Shiho smiles “After all, right now we have nothing to lose. How many people are left in your group?”  
  
Yu looks reluctant “One. Yosuke.”  
  
“Then I’ll try and stop you from taking him,” Shiho promises. She gets up and dusts herself down “Where have you been living here anyway? Not the subway, right?”  
  
“Suzui,” Yu gets up as well and faces her “I need to get you back home. Your friends, your parents-”  
  
“I’m staying,” Shiho cuts him off and looks at him firmly “We don’t know if this is going to work but if I can stop you from taking your last friend, then I may be able to save mine.”  
  
Yu still looks reluctant but Shiho isn’t the same girl she’d been before her persona awakening. If anything, he feels kind of like he’d created a monster by making her face her demons and become stronger as a result. He takes a deep breath and leads her out of the subway. The Metaverse air is thick and heavy, it’s harder to breathe and nothing looks as it should but Shiho is determined - at the very least - to try and help. Stop Yu from taking Yosuke and ultimately stop him from disappearing as well.  
  
All of that seems worth staying longer in the Metaverse.  
  
* * *  
  
**5/2 - Monday**  
  
Before Akira even opens his eyes, he knows where he is. He takes a deep breath and sits up, needing a little extra energy just to keep his eyes open and push himself into a sitting position. Already Akechi is awake on the other couch.  
  
Akira spots Lavenza standing between them, large book in her arms as usual, clutched to her chest. Igor is watching them from his desk and Akira notes the slight suspicion and annoyance on Akechi’s face.  
  
“There’s something you’re not telling us,” Akechi says to Igor “There’s a lot you’re not telling us.”  
  
“For good reason,” Igor replies, irritatingly calm despite the doddering nature of his tone “There are so many things happening in the world that you need never know about.”  
  
“But the things we do need to know about, you’re keeping it from us,” Akechi accuses him “You know what is coming after us. You know we’re in danger.”  
  
“You already know you’re in danger,” Igor reminds him “You’ve known you’re in danger ever since you realised the Metaverse was back. But you’re right, there is much I could tell you but am choosing not to. Do not think that means I intend to harm you though.”  
  
Akechi narrows his eyes and Akira eyes Lavenza. Lavenza and Igor (when Igor had been Igor and not an imposter hell-bent on taking over the world) were guardians of a sort from what he gathered. Igor had created Morgana to help Akira reach the truth and save the world.  
  
“Morgana is gone,” he tells Igor “That thing...whatever it is, it took him.”  
  
“Yes,” Igor shifts behind his desk and brings his hands up to clasp them in front of himself, using them as a rest for his chin “I felt his presence leave the world when the shadow took him. There is - unfortunately - nothing that can be done. He’s gone.”  
  
Akira feels a small jolt at that. If Igor is saying it’s final, then it really must be.  
  
“I have not brought you here for no reason, however,” Igor states “You are up against something powerful. Thus it is our duty to help and assist you wherever possible. We are giving you both a gift.”  
  
Akechi is almost immediately suspicious but Akira isn’t. The last time Igor...well, the imposter….gave him a gift, it was a handy third eye to see things other people couldn’t. He could do with something like that again.  
  
“Your connection is valuable,” Lavenza explains “It could save your lives in the future to come. We would like to help strengthen it wherever possible.”  
  
Akira spots, out of the corner of his eye, the way Akechi looks somewhat uncomfortable and he can’t blame him. What Igor and Lavenza are basically saying is that they’re going to meddle with their relationship.  
  
“You must be strong as a pair, a single unit,” Lavenza tells them “Last year a god chose you both and pitted you against each other. What he was unaware of was that both of you together represent an unstoppable force. The world depends on your unity.”  
  
Akechi grumbles and Akira doesn’t really know what to say. Here he thought the hardest thing he was going to have to worry about was figuring out how to have sex with another guy, not how to become a single unit with him.  
  
“I hope you’re aware, even a little, how fucked up your plans are,” Akechi finally points out, his eyes sharp on Lavenza’s small girl frame “Really. We just started dating.”  
  
“Ah young love,” Igor chuckles “How awkward and refreshing. Unfortunately, the world has bigger plans for you both.”  
  
Akira wonders if the world would ever just leave him alone or if he’s doomed to face a legion of impossible circumstances and characters all his life.  
  
What he wouldn’t give to just be boring and normal.  
  
“Lie down and close your eyes,” Lavenza tells them “Morning approaches and with it, new power.”  
  
They’re taken out of the Velvet Room the second they close their eyes. Akira wakes up in Akechi’s room again and the familiar surroundings remind him how they’d come home the night before, split up and he’d followed Akechi back here.  
  
Sometimes Akira does have to wonder about how his parents don’t even question where he goes, don’t even ask him where he spends his nights. But then it shouldn’t surprise him, they hadn’t contacted him once the entire time he’d been in Tokyo last year. It was almost as though the conviction - false though it was - was enough for them to wash their hands of him.  
  
The thought would be lonely if Akira wasn’t well aware he had people who loved him.  
  
He turns over in bed. Akechi’s arm is tight around his middle and he feels the warmth of his body pressed up against his back. Akira turns and when he looks over, the other is already awake, his eyes glazed like he’s deep in thought.  
  
Akira touches his face and sighs. It’s morning. They’ll have to go to school soon.  
  
“Yen for your thoughts?” Akira asks, quoting an English phrase he’d heard in class once.  
  
Akechi snorts and shakes his head “You’ll need to pay a lot more than one yen for my thoughts,” he tells him.  
  
_Maybe more like ten thousand,_ Akira hears Akechi’s voice say but he doesn’t see his mouth move.  
  
Akira’s hand pauses where it was resting on Akechi’s face. He blinks at the other boy and frowns “Say that again?”  
  
Now Akechi looks confused “Say what again?”  
  
Nothing. Akira starts to think he’d imagined it but then it happens again, while he’s looking right at Akechi’s face, Akechi’s lips aren’t moving but Akira can hear him.  
  
_Is he aware I can’t gather my thoughts when he’s pressed up against me like that?_  
  
Akira jumps back. He sits up and now Akechi looks very confused. Just to test it - to make sure Akira isn’t imagining this - he asks Akechi to repeat himself again, only he thinks it and sure enough, Akechi catches on. Akira hadn’t said a word but Akechi had heard him.  
  
“New power,” Akechi sits up and pales “Our new power...I can…”  
  
_Oh shit,_ Akechi’s voice panics in Akira’s head _He’s going to hear everything._  
  
“I’m not sure this was a good idea,” Akira blurts and he’s not sure how to take this. He has a one way pass into Akechi’s mind and Akechi can hear him too. But that means they’ll hear everything. The good and the bad.  
  
“No, no, no, no,” Akechi scrambles out of bed, he tries to hold his head but Akira can still hear the slew of nonsensical panic that’s radiating off him “This can’t be our new power, this is not going to work, I can’t handle someone else knowing all the thoughts that come out of my head.”  
  
“Shhh,” Akira winces “I’m hearing you screaming in my head and you’re talking at the same time, you’re giving me a headache.”  
  
“I’m panicking!” Akechi yelps and turns to Akira “Aren’t you panicking?!”  
  
“I’m worried,” Akira rubs his head and takes a deep breath. _Goro,_ he thinks _, Calm down._  
  
Thankfully Akechi seems to catch on that he’s hurting Akira by his overthinking. He stops and sits back down on the bed. But he’s still pale, his eyes are still wide.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Akechi mumbles “I just...I think weird things. I don’t want anyone - especially you - knowing what goes on in my head. What were they thinking?”  
  
Akira shrugs. In a way this kind of works out for him. He’s not much of a talker anyway and having someone who literally knows what’s on his mind could be handy. But then that also means that Akechi is going to hear all of Akira’s inner monologues and god knows he thinks too much.  
  
He glances over at Akechi and sure enough, Akechi heard all of that.  
  
“Well I’m glad you’re fine with it,” he mutters and takes a deep breath “In any case, we have school, Loki is probably going to attack soon and I need a shower.”  
  
He gets up and pauses halfway to the bathroom. Akira listens to Akechi’s mind as something he’d forgotten pops up and he turns around.  
  
“What did you send Futaba to do in Tokyo by the way?” Akechi asks “I know it wasn’t just to track down Mishima. That couldn’t have taken her all day.”  
  
“Jax,” Akira replies calmly “According to Futaba, he had all the power here because he could see her coming. All her attacks online, every move she could make, if he knew who she was here, she didn’t stand a chance. Apparently she stood one in Tokyo.”  
  
“So…did she find him then?” Akechi asks and Akira nods.  
  
“She found a guy who might be him, she needs to be sure,” Akira tells him “If she can, she’s going to try and get as much information out of him as she can. Maybe he’ll lead us to the real Loki guy if he’s not him.”  
  
It’s a plan. A better one than they’ve had in awhile. Akechi wanders into the shower and when he’s under the spray, washing at his hair, his mind wanders without his permission. He wonders how they’re going to survive this and then he thinks about the warm water and how much it comforts him. Like fleeting thoughts he has no control over, he then wonders how long until Akira feels comfortable enough to shower with him.  
  
It takes him about ten seconds to realise his thoughts are not sacred anymore and he gasps “Pretend I didn’t think that!” he shouts.  
  
He hears Akira laughing in the bedroom and wonders what will kill him first. Loki or Akira.  
  
* * *  
  
**Ann:** So what did Shiho’s parents say? What did you tell them?  
  
**Ryuji:** I told them she’s still in Tokyo and wanted to stay with you a little longer. We need to buy some more time.  
  
**Makoto:** Not wise. Ann is already under suspicion by the police for what happened to Rise.  
  
**Ryuji:** What was I supposed to tell them?! That she was snatched up by a huge friggin shadow?  
  
**Yusuke:** Perhaps if you’d just said she’d gone missing?  
  
**Ryuji:** Then the cops would be in this shit.  
  
**Ann:** It’s fine. Ryuji’s right. It buys us time to figure out what’s going on here.  
  
**Makoto:** Speaking of, plan?  
  
**Akechi:** Loki is going to attack soon. He has something he wants us to do and I doubt he’ll wait long.  
  
**Futaba:** I have Jax square in my sights! I think…  
  
**Ryuji:** This whole situation fucks me off.  
  
**Yusuke:** What doesn’t piss you off?  
  
**Makoto:** Point.  
  
**Yusuke:** Low blow.  
  
**Futaba:** Too early in the morning for your ‘point’s…  
  
**Yusuke:** Point.  
  
**Futaba:** I swear one of these days I’m gonna slap you.  
  
**Ann:** Anyway, stay safe guys. I mean it, I don’t wanna lose any more friends.  
  
**Haru:** I’m sure we’re all of that mindset. Stay safe everyone.  
  
* * *  
  
When Akira gets to class and sits down at his desk, he notices the yellow slip of paper just sticking out of the inside of his desk. Pulling it out, he notes the name ‘ _Loki’_ scribbled in the corner and freezes.  
  
Well he knew Loki wasn’t going to wait.  
  
_‘Your first target,’_ the note reads _‘Start on her. Today. I’ll be watching. Loki.’_  
  
He flicks the card around to see a picture of a woman with long dark hair tied up into a bun that sits atop her head. She looks like an older woman, possibly in her forties and she’s dressed in a suit and a red blouse underneath. She carries a black handbag and wears far too much magenta makeup. Etched into the corner of the photo is a name ‘ _Rina’_.  
  
Popping up from behind Akira, Akechi reads the note over his shoulder and groans “It starts.”  
  
“It’s something,” Akira looks for Ryuji and shows him the note. The blonde comes over to sit on his desk and reads over the note himself.  
  
“Maybe Futaba can find out more,” Ryuji suggests as Ishida joins them to read the note as well “Think this lady actually did anything wrong?”  
  
“Would you attack if she was innocent?” Ishida asks and Ryuji looks uncomfortable. It kind of goes against every code the Phantom Thieves have to go after someone who did nothing wrong but they’re in a tricky situation here. After all, Loki is the one holding the gun to their heads.  
  
Akira messages Futaba the details and puts his phone down. He eyes the note and steels himself for the reality that they’re not in control this time.  
  
_Sitting behind him has some benefits,_ he hears Akechi’s voice muttering in his head _At least this way when I’m looking at the back of his head, he’s not nearly as distracting as face to face when I can see his eyes._  
  
Akira smirks and on cue he hears Akechi groan and hit his desk with his head behind him. Ryuji looks up “The hell is wrong with you?”  
  
Akechi just moans in embarrassed agony.  
  
Futaba messages them the details midday and after school, Akira leaves with Akechi, Ryuji and Ishida close behind him.  
  
“Akane Rina,” Ryuji reads off Akira’s phone as they walk together down the footpath. One plus of this town really is the fact that almost everything is close enough that there need be no train stations. Only busses and even then, people use them sparingly. “48 years old, social worker, divorced, two adult kids, ex husband is a construction guy - boring.”  
  
Ryuji passes the phone back to Akira “Did that chick actually do anything wrong?”  
  
Ishida squirms a little “Loki kind of has us in a corner,” he points out “We don’t attack, Loki attacks us. We do attack…”  
  
“Let’s just see if this woman actually has a castle,” Akechi suggests “According to the information Futaba pulled up, this lady works until six every night. If we follow her around long enough, we might find out something useful.”  
  
_Yes,_ Akechi grumbles in Akira’s mind _I really wanted to stalk a middle aged woman today. At least I’m walking behind Akira so it gives me something to watch._  
  
Akira sighs _I can hear you just fine, Goro. I knew there was a reason you walk behind me all the time._  
  
_Dammit._  
  
It makes Akira grin at least. Something amusing amidst the true fucked up nature that is their situation. The four of them walk towards the city council building, getting as close to the gates as they dare. It’s a small building, smaller than it would have been had it been in a bigger city. Most people - especially teenagers - have no business there and the only people who go there are those who already work there.  
  
Ryuji eyes the security guard blocking the gates and sighs “So...what? We wait for her to come out?”  
  
“Got a better idea?” Akechi asks.  
  
The four of them are hidden around the corner. From their vantage point, they can see the building just fine. They’re hidden behind a bush of green belonging to the house they’re stalking in front of and really, the only danger in picking this spot to hide is looking somewhat suspicious by any neighbour who happens to notice the four skulking teenage boys lurking around.  
  
Ryuji crouches down and prepares himself for a long wait. The others follow, sitting on the pavement, just barely out of the way for people walking by.  
  
“Where’s Futaba anyway?” Ryuji asks.  
  
“Watching Jax,” Akira replies, absentmindedly keeping his eye on the gates “She found a guy in charge of the IT Club who fits most of the categories, she’s just making sure first.”  
  
Ryuji hums. He pulls his phone out when it buzzes and nobody pays him any notice when a small grin comes over his face. Ishida notices, but doesn’t pry when he sees Ann’s name briefly on the screen of Ryuji’s phone.  
  
So that’s happening.  
  
Ishida looks up and notices the looks Akechi and Akira shoot each other every now and then. As if they can communicate without words. He looks at Ryuji but the blonde is almost totally immersed in his phone. Ishida sighs and rests his chin on his hand.  
  
“Maybe I need new friends.”  
  
* * *  
  
“Hi.”  
  
Yusuke blinks. He’d just come out of class and he hadn’t expected anyone to greet him. No one ever does. After a full year here, the other students and teachers have pretty much figured out that Yusuke doesn’t go out of his way to talk to people unless he takes an interest in them - which isn’t often.  
  
For the most part they leave him alone so when Yusuke steps out and someone actually says hello to him, it takes him a moment to stop and register that it even happened.  
  
Then he needs another moment when he recognises the boy in front of him doesn’t even go to his school.  
  
Sora is standing in front of him, dressed in a dark green vest with a white shirt underneath. He wears dark ripped jeans with a red and black plaid shirt tied around his waist and black boots. There are bracelets around both his tiny wrists and several necklaces around his neck. Not to mention the fluffy black hair and sunbeam like smile.  
  
No matter how one looks at him, he’s not a normal teenager and he’s getting attention from the other students just by standing there.  
  
“Um,” Yusuke looks around as if someone is going to start noticing this guy is talking to him “What are you doing here?”  
  
“I stalked you,” Sora chuckles. Yusuke’s eyes widen and the dark haired boy giggles “I lie, I lie, I asked Ann-chan.”  
  
“Why?” Yusuke blurts. Perhaps that is an insensitive question considering Sora had gone out of his way to not only find out where he was but also had come to visit but still, Yusuke can’t imagine why someone would do that.  
  
“Because I wanted to see you,” Sora tells him, just as blunt and honest “I woke up this morning thinking ‘damn I really need more friends’ and then I thought about you.”  
  
Yusuke stares and he doesn’t quite know what to make of this guy. Sora is so bluntly honest - like him. But he came out of nowhere. Up until yesterday, Yusuke had never even met him face to face (unless one counts the palace but Yusuke knows better).  
  
“Ann told me you’re an artist,” Sora continues harmlessly “Will you show me some of your work?”  
  
Yusuke, still stunned, grasps the one thing he does know how to talk about. Art. Yes. Art. He can talk about art. He can even show his art….everything but the paintings of Ryuji.  
  
“I…” he falters and thinks about the way Ryuji and Ann had wordlessly started something yesterday. He feels something in his mind click in response and nods “Okay.”  
  
Sora’s smile is almost too bright “Perfect!” he chirps “I love art.”  
  
Yusuke leads him down the hallway. Students notice and he can’t tell what they’re noticing more. That Sora is becoming a known face in Shibuya thanks to his singing career or that Yusuke is actually talking to someone. He doesn’t know why Sora came here or exactly what Sora wants but it almost feels nice. Just a little. To have someone interested in his life again.  
  
Sora falls into step beside Yusuke. He smiles again and there’s no way he’s a normal teenage boy. Not with that face.  
  
* * *  
  
“You should know,” Yu says as he pushes some red vines and debris out of the way “In case anything happens-”  
  
“Nothing is going to happen,” Shiho promises him.  
  
They’re in what appears to be a small apartment. When Yu had taken her out of the subway, the world, the Metaverse, was almost surreal. It looked like Tokyo, but it wasn’t Tokyo. Red, almost blood like veins and vines shot up from the concrete ground. The sky switched seamlessly from red to a cloudy white. There were creatures Shiho didn’t even recognise running around and few seemed that bothered with her presence.  
  
The ones that did, Yu hid her before they could do anything about it.  
  
Yu had taken her to an apartment block not far from the subway. It, like everything else in this world, was riddled with the same blood-like veins that shot up out of nowhere and there was no way, with the heavy air, the humidity and the general appearance, that Shiho could ever think she was anywhere but the Metaverse.  
  
But this was apparently where Yu had been staying ever since he’d been taken first.  
  
“I don’t know what happens when that thing takes over me,” Yu explains as he brushes some of the vines out of the way so he can sit down on the couch “I...I don’t know. I close my eyes, then it’s like a dream. Like someone’s talking to me but my eyes are closed. I can hear their voices, I can hear their screaming...I heard Rise call me senpai…” he stops for a moment and turns his eyes to Shiho “Then I open my eyes and I’m here and I know what I’ve done.”  
  
“Where are they?” Shiho asks as she takes a seat next to him “Do you know?”  
  
Yu shakes his head “Yosuke is the only one left. I know where Teddie is, but that’s because he was never human to begin with.”  
  
“Teddie?” Shiho asks, thinking immediately of Morgana.  
  
“He looks like a bear,” Yu explains with a small grin on his face “Acts like...a kid. But when I was taken and put here, he was with me.”  
  
“Where is he now?” Shiho looks around the apartment but there are no signs that anyone else lives here. Yu barely leaves any sign that he lives here aside from the fact that the blanket on the bed has been pulled back and messed up a little.  
  
“I sent him to do something for me,” Yu tells her “Since there’s only one person left in my generation, I felt it would be better to offer your generation as much help as I can, while I can.”  
  
It kind of chills Shiho to know that Yu will be gone if whatever is controlling him succeeds and makes him take his last friend out of the world.  
  
“I’m not going to let you take him,” Shiho promises. She takes Yu’s hand but there’s doubt in his eyes. There’s doubt radiating off him but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he just lets her hold his hand.  
  
After a moment, he takes a breath and shakes his head “Shiho,” he says “When it happens, you need to run and return to your world. Keep a close eye on Kurusu. The shadows will go after him first. If they get him, that’s it. You’ll all lose.”  
  
“It’s not going to happen,” Shiho tells him, this time a little more firmly “You said it yourself. They have no idea I’m a persona user, they don’t know I’m here. If the element of surprise is what we have, then maybe I can stop them from taking over you.”  
  
“I sent Teddie to get Morgana,” Yu explains and Shiho doesn’t even notice the sky outside is darkening. She doesn’t like the way Yu is talking, like it’s a goodbye. “When I disappear, Teddie will too. Before that happens I wanted him to-”  
  
“Yu,” Shiho snaps, her hands reaching up to hold his face “Nothing is going to happen. They’re not going to take over you. You’re not going to disappear, I won’t let it.”  
  
“They don’t know about you,” Yu tells her “Keep it that way. When it happens, run.”  
  
The sky outside is getting darker. Shiho can hear thunder. She looks at the window to see the corrupted red trees blowing in sudden heavy wind. Their room gets darker and the air gets heavier, thicker, like smoke.  
  
Yu looks up “They’re coming.”  
  
She can feel panic taking over her. Shiho looks up to see something black forming on the ceiling. Like mould. A shadow. It’s forming right above Yu’s head and she does the first thing she can think of, which is grab him and pull him out of the way.  
  
Shiho gets up, she pulls on Yu’s hand to drag him up onto his feet and she hears something growl. That thing that was on the ceiling, the slow forming shadow, it growls and when Shiho turns around, Yu’s eyes are closed.  
  
“No, no!” Shiho yelps, she pulls on Yu’s arm and he follows her out the door and back down the stairs they’d climbed to get up here. The growl follows as the shadow jumps after them both, trying to get into Yu’s body one more time.  
  
Shiho makes it down the stairs, keeping Yu close to herself as she kicks the door open and drags him out with her.  
  
“Yu wake up!” she pleads, running down the street. His body works, he’s running after her but for all intents and purposes, his mind is shut down. Almost as though someone came in and turned the lights off in order to let this thing take over him.  
  
Shiho can hear the shadow screaming now. It’s scrambling down the streets after her. Shiho dodges vines shooting up from the ground to stop her. She keeps Yu close as she sprints towards the subway again and leads him down. Shiho is panicking. She’s no match against a shadow and she doesn’t know nearly enough about her own persona in order to fight it.  
  
Something tells her, given the immense amount of power she’d felt coming off the shadow, that she’d be no match against it anyway.  
  
Shiho pulls Yu into the bathroom and shuts the door. She keeps Yu close to her and listens as the shadow shoots right past the door, growling as it tries to find them.  
  
“Yu,” Shiho pleads, turning around to face him. His eyes are closed, he’s not responding. She takes his shoulders to shake them but he doesn’t open his eyes at all. It’s almost as though he’s empty.  
  
“Yu!” she yells but he doesn’t wake up at all.  
  
Desperate for one last attempt, Shiho rears her hand back. She slaps his face and watches as his eyes pop open, like someone turned the light on again.  
  
“Shiho,” he breathes. He looks around and when he hears the growl, he realises where they are.  
  
“It’s here,” Shiho tells him “I don’t know what it is, but it’s looking for you.”  
  
Yu hears it growl. He puts his hands on Shiho’s shoulders and shakes his head “It’s going to find me,” he tells her “Listen to me now. When you get back to your world, tell Kurusu about what happened and more importantly, what will happen if those shadows get their hands on him. Tell him I’m the one who took Morgana and I’m going to give him back. The shadows don’t know about you and they don’t know about Morgana - use that.”  
  
“It’s not going to take you,” Shiho insists and when she hears the growling get louder, she looks to the door. She feels, rather than sees, it’s right outside the door. It found them.  
  
“Right now, the element of surprise is your sharpest weapon, you have to use it,” Yu carries on, ignoring Shiho’s rising panic. He glances at the door and pauses a moment “I’m sorry I couldn’t help more, but tell Kurusu to keep his eyes open. If whatever is taking over the Metaverse has gotten this far, it means they had help. It means that Igor…”  
  
The door bangs open and Shiho looks up to see the shadow itself, red eyes dotting a dark and featureless existence. She grabs Yu but there’s nothing she can do as it jumps straight for him, going into him through his nose, his mouth, his ears and his eyes.  
  
Shiho watches helplessly as the shadow takes over him, causing him to gasp. He throws his head back and Shiho, sensing the change, shifts back. She watches as he slowly brings his head back and when he opens his eyes again, she knows it’s not him.  
  
His eyes are the same red as the monsters that had come to take people away. He’s so cold he radiates a chill.  
  
He stares at her for a moment and Shiho can’t breathe. It’s him but it’s not him. It feels like forever that he stares but in reality it’s only about five seconds before he gets up onto his feet and makes for the door. Not even acknowledging her at all.  
  
Shiho goes after him. She grabs his hand and forces him to turn around and just like before, he stares but he doesn’t talk. He doesn’t even really look at her, he looks through her. Shiho steps in a little closer, she cups his face but he’s cold as ice. He doesn’t react to her at all, it’s almost as though he’s already gone and whatever took over him, has taken over him for good.  
  
“Yu,” she tries quietly, her warm fingers move over his cold skin and she stares into the red eyes, willing any part of Yu to appear in front of her “Yu?”  
  
He doesn’t answer. Just stares, right through her. Like he’s not there.  
  
Leaning in, Shiho watches him carefully but he doesn’t move away. He doesn’t even acknowledge her. Shiho shakes her head. He’d been there for her, he’d helped her, he’d tried his hardest to warn her group as best he could. Even when he knew there was no saving him.  
  
“I’m sorry,” she breathes “I’m sorry. I wanted to bring you back with me, get you out of here….at least save you.”  
  
Yu doesn’t answer and so Shiho leans in. She presses a soft kiss against his lips and as her eyes flutter shut, she feels, just for a second, him pressing his lips back against hers. She can’t tell if it’s the shadow or if it’s him.  
  
He pulls back and before she can grab him, try to stop him by force, try to get him to stay and not do what she knows he’s going to do, he disappears like smoke with tendrils only wisping in the air in her grasp.  
  
* * *  
  
“Lady in short skirt and long legs,” Ryuji comments dryly, watching as a woman fitting the description of the woman they’re looking for comes out of the building.  
  
The others look up. She’s a tall woman with dark hair tied back into a bun so tight it pulls her eyebrows up. She wears thick rimmed black glasses and a grey business suit to match her skirt. Her heels click on the pavement and the boys watch as she walks calmly out of the building and down the road.  
  
“Okay,” Akira sighs and starts to follow her with the others close behind.  
  
They keep a distance from her, just far enough that they can still see her without her sensing their presence.  
  
“Businesswoman who probably earns enough for a decent living and yet...she doesn’t have a car?” Ishida questions as they watch her walk on and on “Isn’t that a bit weird?”  
  
“Thank god she doesn’t have a car, we wouldn’t be able to follow her on foot if she did,” Ryuji grumbles.  
  
Akechi keeps quiet and instead thinks about how distracting it is to walk behind Akira because he has a perfect view of his…  
  
Akira smirks when he hears Akechi groan in embarrassment. He keeps his eyes on Rina and notes she’s walking her way towards the dodgy district. Every town has them and his is punctuated by the noise, the cluster of the lost, the hopeless and the desperate.  
  
Then she turns left and Akira follows just in time to see her disappear in a club called ‘ELMORE’.  
  
“Elmore,” Akechi frowns “Isn’t that...isn’t that the host club that Sae found for us? That’s where Nishizawa Ran supposedly works.”  
  
Ryuji raises his eyebrow. The bar itself looks like all the other host bars in the street. There’s a bright, pink and purple neon light advertising the building and the doors are painted black with red lights shining above it. Windows are either curtained off or blacked out completely. It is a host bar after all.  
  
“Didn’t that report of Futaba’s say that this chick is married?” he asks.  
  
“As if married women don’t have affairs,” Ishida points out. He looks around the street “We’re not going to be able to get in there. Guys like us are not only underage but we also have no business going in there.”  
  
“You guys might not be able to get in but I may still have some leverage,” Akechi announces and steps forward “Watch me.”  
  
Akira frowns but doesn’t protest as Akechi heads towards the bar. He leans in to the bouncer at the door and whispers something in his ear. The bouncer laughs and to Ryuji’s (and Ishida’s) surprise, the bouncer then steps aside to let him in.  
  
_I’ll find her and step right out,_ Akechi assures Akira. _If I scream, come after me._  
  
_Not comforting,_ Akira shoots back but he takes a breath. He has no choice but to wait for now.  
  
Inside the bar, Akechi looks around. Host bars are, by their very nature, flashy and gaudy in design. Red carpet and black walls lead to a large area with a stage, a bar runs along the right and many tables and booths are spread out in the area.  
  
Along the walls are pictures of the hosts. Each host has a number to mark him, they’re all handsome. All charming and always ready to entertain a lady of any age. Akechi wonders if this could have been him had he not used his talents to break into another side of the entertainment world instead.  
  
He heads to the bar and scans the room quickly. There are numerous hosts working the night. Already their customers are with them. Most of them rich enough to afford them and rich enough to look like they’re dripping of gold. There are girls dressed in rich white fur, others in designer dresses. Young women in their twenties and older women in their fifties, all laughing, drinking, talking with their chosen hosts for the night.  
  
Akechi watches and rests his eyes on the booth in the far right corner. Rina is there, but her hair is down now. Long dark tresses curled and waved to perfection. Her business suit is gone, instead replaced with a red dress that clings to her skinny frame. She has makeup on, more jewellery and a wine glass in her hand as she leans in and speaks softly to the host in her sight.  
  
It takes Akechi a moment to match him. After all, he’s only seen the guy in blurry photos Futaba pulled off her research but that’s him. Nishizawa Ran. He’s underage, he’s too young to be a host. He sits there in a black suit, the white shirt underneath has the first three buttons undone to show a pale chest where Rina’s hand occasionally travels.  
  
It takes him one second to connect the dots. When he’d sent Sae to look for Ran, she’d found him here but when she’d asked why an underage teenager was working in such a place, she’d come up against a brick wall. The social workers had insisted there was nothing wrong.  
  
Given that Rina was a social worker, Akechi was guessing she was his social worker and she was the reason why he was still in here and not in school.  
  
The bartender places a drink in front of Akechi and the detective blinks.  
  
“I didn’t order anything,” he says.  
  
“It’s from Host Nine,” she smiles and heads off.  
  
Akechi looks over the drink. It’s a simple pink martini but there’s a small note stuck under the glass. Inconspicuously, Akechi pulls the note out and opens it.  
  
_‘I don’t know who you are or why you’re here but if you have any sense at all, you’ll leave right now.’_  
  
He looks up at the host pictures. Under the number nine is Ran’s picture. He turns back to look at Ran and the boy isn’t looking at him. He’s looking at Rina but there’s no doubt in Akechi’s mind, the note had come straight from him.  
  
_Well,_ Akechi thinks. _I think this woman might just have a palace after all._  
  
* * *  
  
Lying in his bed, Yosuke tosses a tennis ball up towards the ceiling. He watches as it falls back into his hand and tosses it again.  
  
He hasn’t been to work in three days. Hasn’t slept properly in two days. Hasn’t eaten in one day. He’s just been waiting.  
  
When he heard what happened to Rise, he knew he was next. One by one, it had taken them all. First Yu, then it took Kanji, then Chie. On and on through the list and he knew Rise was the only one aside from him left. She was high profile, he thought that would at least keep her safe a little longer but now she was gone.  
  
He wasn’t going to run. There was no point. If Yu couldn’t get away, what hope did the rest of them ever stand? If something out there was powerful enough to get him, it was going to get Yosuke without breaking a sweat. The least he could do was not panic himself.  
  
It was coming whether he ran or stayed.  
  
He watches his ceiling grow dark as the ball lands in his waiting hand. Yosuke puts the ball down and can’t help but grin.  
  
“You’re late,” he tells the shadow as it slowly forms, hovering over his bed, its red eyes watching him like food as it comes closer and closer. Enveloping over his body like a blanket.  
  
Yosuke doesn’t fight. He doesn’t have the energy to anymore. He watches the dark shadow swallow his feet first and work its way quickly up his legs, up his stomach, his torso and finally up to his face. His eyes are open and watching steadily as the cold air of the shadow caresses his face like a breeze.  
  
Then before it swallows him whole, he sees Yu and gladly follows.  
  
* * *  
  
The moon is high in the sky and the city is still loud. Tokyo, the city that never sleeps in certain areas, is as loud and as noisy as ever with people wandering the streets, spending the nights in capsule hotels, love hotels, karaoke bars and so on.  
  
Somewhere in the darkest and most abandoned alley of Shinjuku, nobody is around to witness the flash of light that brightens up the entire alley for the briefest of seconds.  
  
No one hears a young voice grunt as he hits the trash bags piled up on the street.  
  
Pushing himself out, the young man grumbles as he pushes banana peels and rubbish off himself. To anyone, he’d look strange even without the garbage. A pair of black pants and white socks with no shoes. He wears a white shirt and has a mop of fluffy dark hair that licks around his ears, curls over his eyebrows, framing a strangely youthful face.  
  
Looking around with bright blue eyes, he takes in his surroundings and has to turn a few times to make sure he is where he is and not in the Metaverse anymore.  
  
It’s only after he pulls a piece of rubbish off his hand that he freezes and realises what’s wrong with him. He looks at his hand, looks at his arms, at his torso, his legs, all the while his voice is getting higher and higher, more and more confused.  
  
“Hey boy!” a voice calls out.  
  
The boy turns around to see a police officer watching him strangely “What are you doing in there?”  
  
“I…” the boy stammers “Can you….can you understand me?”  
  
The police officer looks at him like he’s insane. He comes towards him and shines a flashlight right at his face “Are you on something? Drugs?”  
  
“Get that light away from my eyes,” the boy complains, reaching out to push the flashlight away “Where am I?”  
  
The officer looks almost certain he’s on something now. He squints and tilts his head “What’s your name?”  
  
“I’m…” the boy pauses. He looks over his body, feels his face, his hair, there’s no doubt in his mind this is real and although he’s dreamt of this so many times, to finally have it happen...he doesn’t know what to do. Teddie hadn’t told him anything other than ‘I’m doing you a favour!’  
  
“Oy,” the officer presses and flashes the light back in his face “A name?”  
  
“Morgana,” the boy hisses, shielding his eyes from the light “My name is Morgana.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! And yeah I know, this story has had a constant flow of updates until lately when I've taken much much longer to update (if anything highlights my life in two countries and how different they are, I think that's one symptom)  
> But here we go! There are a lot of different plotlines happening and that was always the original plan so what we're seeing here is a branching out of sorts. On top of the main plotline, you have all these different things happening to everyone individually (kind of like in the game where you find out that everyone on their own has problems and you help them sort it whilst strengthening your bond with them)
> 
> This chapter was kind of an unexpected joy to write. Mainly because the characters are in Tokyo and I like writing things I know from experience (never go to Harajuku on Sunday, thank me later) but I shall try to have the next chapter out sooner :) In the meantime, happy reading!


	12. Slow

**5/2 - Monday**   
  
Akira looks up when the doors to the host club open and Akechi comes out - unharmed and unmolested. He hears Ryuji groan and slap a 1000 yen note into Ishida’s hand for losing the bet.   
  
“Told you,” Ishida sings, watching as Akechi saunters his way back to them.   
  
“It’s a host club, he’s pretty, someone ought to have molested him, even just a grope,” Ryuji huffs and when Akechi reaches them, the blonde leans in “Did someone grab you? Drag you into the backroom and have their way with you? Buy you a drink?”   
  
Akechi blinks and glances at Akira who simply shakes his head. He had nothing to do with this (though he’d also done absolutely nothing to stop Ishida and Ryuji from betting whether or not Akechi was going to be molested in there).   
  
“Someone did buy me a drink,” Akechi offers with a shrug.   
  
“Ha!” Ryuji turns to Ishida “Give me my note back!”   
  
“But no one molested me,” Akechi adds with a small smirk as he realises what this is about “And the drink was to hide a note, that’s all.”   
  
He passes the note to Akira who glances over it and hands it to the others.   
  
“Leave right now,” Ishida reads out loud, a frown comes over his face as he gives the note back to Akechi “Who sent it?”   
  
“Ran himself,” Akechi shrugs and pockets the note “It’s dodgy as all hell because that was exactly who Rina had gone to see.”   
  
“Wait,” Ryuji frowns, a slow look of realisation dawning over his face “Wait, let me get this straight. Rina is a social worker…”   
  
“Correct,” Akechi nods, amusement spreading over his face as he slowly guides Ryuji through his thought process.   
  
“And….Ran is her client...” Ryuji continues.   
  
“One of them.”   
  
“And she’s supposed to be protecting him because she is his social worker.”   
  
“Yes…”   
  
“And instead of making sure he’s in a good family and going to school, she’s hiding the fact that he’s a host so that she can see him.”   
  
“Correct.”   
  
“Motherfucker!” Ryuji kicks over a nearby trash bag left out on the street for collection and shakes his head “Adults are fucking twisted. Isn’t there at least one decent adult left?!”   
  
“Using her own client like that…” Ishida looks disgusted and disturbed “I mean, he shouldn’t be a host in the first place. She should be prohibiting that and putting him in a safe house, instead she’s using it.”   
  
“Chances are, she’s also keeping this a secret from her agency,” Akechi adds helpfully “They’d fire her if they knew. But since she’s in charge of Ran’s profile and reports - and nobody is checking on her - then she has too much free reign to pull and twist this however she likes. The fault is in the agency as well.”   
  
“We should also prepare ourselves for Ran’s side of the story,” Akira mutters “He might not actually want to be there,” he nods to the note in Akechi’s hand and glances back at the host bar.   
  
Ryuji fumes “This bitch has a palace then, that’s gotta be it. No one that sick and fucked up can be innocent.”   
  
Akira pulls his phone out and switches to the Nav but before anyone can do anything else, they hear hurried footsteps running their way. They look up and Ryuji’s face pales as he recognises the girl running towards them.   
  
“Suzui!”   
  
Shiho is exhausted and she looks it. She’s wearing the same clothes she’d worn when she’d slept over at Ann’s place, her hair is a mess, she looks like she’s been crying because her skin is blotchy and pink but she’s there. She’s not gone, not dead at all.   
  
She rushes towards the group and goes straight for Akira first. Regardless that they’re nowhere near comfortable or close enough to hug each other, Shiho runs straight into his chest and hides in him. Stunned, Akira puts his arms gently around her.   
  
She’s shaking, she’s dressed in such thin clothing and it’s cold tonight.   
  
“Suzui,” Ishida blinks in surprise “I thought you were…”   
  
Shiho pulls her face out of Akira’s chest and looks up. He watches her in surprise and can’t help but smooth her hair down a little. She looks like she’s been through hell.   
  
“Are you alright?” he asks, still a little stunned that she’s here and she’s alive at all.   
  
Shiho shakes her head, she’s shaking so hard and it’s all Akira can do to keep her on her feet.   
  
“Where have you been?” Akechi asks “We thought…”   
  
“Let’s go somewhere warm,” Ishida suggests quickly and looks around “We’re out in the open here, it’s cold and I think Suzui has a lot of explaining to do.”   
  
They move to a cafe that is still miraculously open and Akira tastefully ignores the small grumble in Akechi’s head as he orders Shiho a warm tea. Akechi hadn’t missed how she’d just gone for Akira first.   
  
Shiho is pale, she’s shaking and she looks like she’s been through hell but she explains it all. How Yu was the one who’d entered the real world from the Metaverse, how he was no longer in control of his body and was being forced to take his own teammates, how he’d voluntarily taken Shiho in order to warn her and how they were going to come after Akira first.   
  
“So if they don’t get Kurusu, they won’t be able to take the rest of us?” Akechi summarises with a small frown. He glances at Akira.   
  
_Over my dead body._   
  
Akira smirks and turns to Shiho who nods “That’s what Yu told me. The shadows behind this, they’re trying to get rid of the persona users but...I don’t know, it must be leaders.”   
  
Wild cards, Akira thinks. He is known as a wild card but then he’s not the only one. Akechi is one too. If the rules apply by that, then technically Akechi is in just as much danger as Akira is.   
  
“Yu’s gone now,” Shiho sniffs “He was taken over by that...thing. I...assume he’s gone to take the last of his team members away.”   
  
“Which means our generation is next,” Akechi sighs heavily and Akira can hear his thought process but it’s way too fast to catch a single word. When Akechi’s mind starts going, it’s almost like a jumble of thoughts and voices that make sense to Akechi but not to Akira.   
  
“Okay,” Ryuji huffs “So….not only are we dealing with some guy who is forcing us to be Phantom Thieves again, but we’re also being hunted by something that - if it gets our leader - we’re totally and completely fucked.”   
  
“In a nutshell, yes,” Ishida nods in agreement.   
  
“Brilliant,” Ryuji mutters.   
  
“There’s one more thing,” Shiho confesses as Akira’s cell phone starts buzzing in his pocket. He takes it out to see an unknown number and frowns as he presses the answer button.   
  
“Morgana was taken by one of Yu’s acquaintances,” Shiho tells the others as Akira answers his phone “Chances are-”   
  
“The police just called,” Akira interrupts her “They arrested a guy who licks his hand to clean himself and says he’s Morgana.”   
  
The stunned look on Ryuji’s face is priceless.   
  
By the time the group get to the police station, Akira already feels like this is the longest night of his life. The group wait at the reception desk and watch as a boy is taken out of the holding cells and walked towards them. He has unruly dark hair and startling blue eyes that somehow suited him more when he was a cat.   
  
He also has a brown blanket draped around his thin body, a huge grin appears on his face when he sees them all.   
  
“Morgana?” Akira tilts his head. This boy is a cat no more.   
  
“Akira!” Morgana chirps happily. It sure as hell sounds like him, it just doesn’t look like him.   
  
“Holy shit,” Ryuji exclaims behind Akira. Ishida and Shiho are stunned and it’s no surprise to Akira that Akechi’s reaction is in his thoughts.   
  
_I half expected a tail._   
  
“We found him wandering alone, he seemed confused,” one of the police officers explains as they give Morgana to Akira “Is he on something?”   
  
“Um, no,” Akira explains quickly “He….he sleepwalks.”   
  
“It’s chronic,” Ishida jumps in.   
  
Morgana’s eyes widen “No I-” he starts to protest before Ryuji slaps his hand over his mouth and drags him behind Akira before the police change their minds and take him back.   
  
“Thank you for finding him,” Akira smiles and turns on his heel to lead the group back out again.   
  
They regroup - again - in Akechi’s kitchen. By this point, Akechi’s landlord is just so used to large groups of people wandering up to his apartment that he doesn’t even bat an eye when he notices Morgana among them.   
  
They sit around the tiny table that Akechi owns and all eyes are on Morgana. They’re staring at everything. The hair, the eyes, the skin, the body. It’s Morgana but it’s not Morgana and they keep half expecting him to do something cat-like at any minute.   
  
“Weird,” Ryuji comments first as he looks over Morgana “Just...weird.”   
  
“Do you still lick yourself clean?” Ishida asks curiously “The police said you were doing that.”   
  
“Stop staring at me!” Morgana snaps and folds his arms “I don’t remember what happened!”   
  
“You don’t?” Shiho blinks in surprise. She was taken as well but she remembers everything. In fact she remembers everything about Yu so well that she almost wishes she could forget too.   
  
“No,” Morgana huffs “I was minding my own business, sleeping on Ishida’s chest and the next thing I knew, I was in a trash can and I was human.”   
  
Ryuji leans over to poke Morgana’s cheek curiously. Morgana slaps his hand off and looks at Akira “But hey, isn’t this cool!” he beams “I’m finally human!”   
  
“The question is ‘why?’” Akechi replies quietly.   
  
“It was one of Yu’s acquaintances who took him and did this,” Shiho says “I think...maybe to help us?”   
  
Sometimes, the fact that Morgana was a cat was a true advantage to the Phantom Thieves in the past. As a cat, Morgana was able to go into places that they couldn’t, people ignored him and it was easy to gather information that way. Now that he was human however…   
  
“Can you still turn into a van?” Ryuji asks “Because that could either be really cool or really creepy if you think about it.”   
  
Morgana rolls his eyes and Akira glances at Akechi. He can hear his mind going at a thousand miles an hour but the former detective keeps to himself.   
  
“Well, we’re glad you’re alright,” Shiho finally says with a reassuring smile to the former cat “We all got a small scare from the shadows as it was.”   
  
“Well we thought you were gone,” Ryuji points out “And we thought Mona was gone. Now you’re both back.”   
  
“An event that is not likely to happen twice considering the ones who helped us are now gone,” Akechi chimes in “But going from the final information that Suzui received from this Yu, we are all safe until the shadows come for Kurusu. Once they have him, they’ll pick us off one by one. If they never get him, they’ll never get us.”   
  
Ryuji looks at him “How do you figure that?”   
  
“From what I’ve managed to understand, shadows aren’t born with an innate knowledge of how our world works. Only how theirs work,” Akechi explains and Akira has the added pleasure of seeing his thought process before he actually says it. It’s almost like Akechi is repeating himself and it’s quite fascinating to watch.   
  
“Once they enter our world - if they even can on their own - they’re overwhelmed with how different things are. They may not even be in control of their own form once they cross over. Morgana was a cat on two legs in the Metaverse but he was a normal cat in this world,” he gestures to the boy who is listening intently. “Morgana himself was a rarity. I’m willing to bet 99% of the shadows that enter this world, do not have their own body to use so they cannot do much in this world anyway. So they need a host, they need someone to grab first and who better than the leader of the group?” Akechi suggests and looks at Akira “The key to everyone else. I’m willing to bet that’s what happened with every generation before us. They took the leader and used him or her to take everyone else.”   
  
“That makes sense,” Morgana pipes up “It’s alarming that shadows can even cross into this world so easily but if there are those strong enough to do it, even they’d be lost the second they step foot here. They’d need a guide and I don’t think they’re the kind of guys who ask nicely for one either.”   
  
“So all of us surviving is dependant on Akira staying...not...kidnapped?” Ishida frowns “That’s comforting.”   
  
Akira wonders why it always has to be him. He resists the temptation to sigh and glances at Akechi who offers a sympathetic grin. Akechi heard him.   
  
“They must have taken Morgana and turned him human to give us an advantage of sorts,” Akechi concludes “Whatever happens over the next few days, we have to keep an eye on Aki - I mean Kurusu.”   
  
Ishida rolls his eyes but says nothing as Akechi clears his throat. No one else notices.   
  
“I need to stay with someone,” Morgana speaks up “I mean it was easier before when I was a cat because I was easy to sneak in but now that I’m human I need somewhere to stay.”   
  
All eyes turn to Akira and Akira knows why. Morgana had been with him when he was a cat and granted, things had been different as of late but if Yu had turned Morgana into a human to give them an advantage, then perhaps Morgana would somehow be able to stop the shadows from coming after him.   
  
Akira can’t see how but the logic still stands that if Morgana is going to go somewhere, he should go with Akira.   
  
Akechi groans mentally and Akira can’t actually say why he wants to stay here instead so he nods.   
  
“I’ll tell my parents you’re staying over for a bit until we figure something out,” he promises.   
  
Morgana brightens “Yay! Can we get something to eat on the way home? I’m starving. Is there sushi? I think I want sushi.”   
  
“There’s one more thing we should do before we call it for the night,” Ishida speaks up, interrupting Morgana’s excited babbling. He looks up “Tonight we found out more about our target. A woman like that must have a palace. All we need is to find a way to get inside, right?”   
  
Ryuji hums “Name. Place and what she must think the place is to her,” he leans back in his chair and thinks it over “Akane Rina, Elmore Host Bar and…” he pauses and frowns “What would a woman like that think a place like that is?”   
  
The group goes quiet, all of them thinking and Akira has the added plus of hearing Akechi’s thoughts added to his own.   
  
“She’s a married woman...or was,” Ishida corrects himself “Has two adult children, in her late forties, social worker who is obviously using her power and position to keep Ran on the system so she can use him. He’s a high schooler, he should not be working in a host bar.”   
  
“The question really is, why is Ran agreeing to this?” Akechi adds “It’s just as possible that he could like working there and this arrangement is working for him as well.”   
  
Ryuji grimaces “What kind of dude wants to work in a host bar and spend his nights with lonely women like her?” he asks “He’s our age.”   
  
Akira thinks it over. Ran is either being forced to work there by Rina or he agreed to the arrangement. If he agreed to it, then this is mutual but if he didn’t, then Rina has something on him. Or because she’s his social worker, she can control what he does, where he lives and she has that control until he turns a certain age.   
  
“It’s hard to tell what this arrangement is,” Akechi frowns and brings up the note Ran had left him. He looks over the writing and shakes his head “It’s hard to imagine that Rina could have been able to force him into this but we need to know more. Preferably from Ran himself.”   
  
“So we do that then,” Morgana looks up “We find Ran tomorrow and ask him.”   
  
“That’s not going to be difficult at all…” Ryuji mutters “He sent us a note telling us to get out and we’re not allowed to step one foot in that host bar. Unless we find out where he supposedly lives….Futaba could do that but…”   
  
“But he might not be living where he’s listed to be living,” Shiho finishes for Ryuji “Since Rina is controlling this, chances are his address and foster parents are either fake or he’s not living there and the foster parents don’t care.”   
  
Ishida winces “How can they just not care?”   
  
“It’s more common than you might think,” Akechi points out and Akira jolts as he gets a flash of images in his mind.   
  
It goes by so fast he can barely comprehend what it is but he sees little hands, the reflection of a little boy in the mirror with tears in his eyes, a woman on the floor who won’t wake up and a woman in a suit handing him to parents who are supposed to care but don’t. It happens again and again, going from one family to another. Akira hears their voices in his head every time they give the boy back to social services.   
  
_“We wanted our own child...we thought we’d be happy with him but…”_  
  
 _“My wife and I couldn’t have children so we adopted but then she got pregnant…”_  
  
 _“People in this neighbourhood talk. An outcast with no father and a mother who committed suicide...we can’t keep him now that everyone knows…”_  
  
 _“I thought he’d make my husband stay. A child to hold a family together. But my husband left.”_   
  
In a moment he gets a wave of feelings that aren’t his. Fear. Uncertainty. Loneliness. An eternal desire to be needed and loved.   
  
Akechi. Was that him?   
  
Akira looks at him but the former detective isn’t meeting his gaze. Almost as if he realised what had just happened and he didn’t want to look at Akira and talk about it. Not now.   
  
“Plan then,” Ryuji speaks up, cutting off Akira’s thought process “We track down Ran tomorrow. Futaba’s got her hands full with that Jax guy. Suzui, you should probably give Ann a call.”   
  
Shiho nods and Ryuji gets up “Let’s call it. I’m beat and by the sounds of it, we’ve got some work tomorrow.”   
  
“Yes, I’m starving!” Morgana beams as he gets up and looks at Akira expectantly “We should get something on the way home.”   
  
Akira looks at Akechi again but the other is pointedly avoiding his gaze. Instead looking away at a spot on the floor. His mind too is closed, Akechi is deliberately trying not to think or let anything out and he’s probably had years to practice it when he had to.   
  
“Wait outside,” Akira tells Morgana “I’ve just got one thing I need to do.”   
  
Morgana looks confused but he hops outside, following the others who each bid their goodnights and head out the door.   
  
When they’re gone and Akira’s alone with Akechi, he approaches the other who shakes his head.   
  
“Leave it, Akira,” he mutters “I don’t know what that was but I don’t like you knowing about it.”   
  
Akira doesn’t say anything. He won’t push. If Akechi really doesn’t want to let him in, he won’t pry. He’ll wait until Akechi wants him in. But he can’t leave him tonight with that feeling in his head. The loneliness is contagious and in a flash Akira knows he’s felt it before.   
  
Not long, but he’s had his moments. It is, after all, lonely at the top.   
  
Leaning in, he places a hand on Akechi’s chin and turns his face. He sees Akechi’s confused eyes for just a moment before he leans in to kiss him gently. He doesn’t have words. None would comfort what feels like years and years and years of loneliness and neglect.   
  
But Akechi has to know - he must know - that he’s not alone anymore.   
  
Akira feels Akechi’s hand on his waist and it pulls him in closer. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss and can feel Akechi’s other arm around his shoulder, fingers in his hair. In Akechi’s mind, Akira feels something else now. Warmer, softer than before.   
  
He pulls back and meets Akechi’s eyes for a moment before Akechi pulls him back in to kiss him again. Akira’s arms wind around Akechi’s skinny waist and he follows the other as Akechi turns them around and presses Akira’s back to the wall he’d just been leaning on.   
  
Akira just feels the tip of Akechi’s tongue against his lips when they both hear Morgana’s raised voice from the other side of the door.   
  
“HEY! I HOPE YOU HAVE A SPARE MATTRESS AT YOUR PLACE!!”   
  
Akechi pulls back and growls. He reluctantly lets Akira go and takes a precautionary step back - mostly to stop himself jumping Akira again.   
  
“Do you have to go?” Akechi asks as Akira’s catching his breath “If some shadow takes you away and I wasn’t there to stop it…”   
  
“Don’t worry,” Akira smiles and straightens his shirt to make it look as though Akechi hadn’t just been hinting to pull it off “I’ve got a feeling it won’t be that easy to take me away.”   
  
Akechi huffs “If only I had your confidence.”   
  
“AKIRAAAA!” Morgana whines “I’M HUNGRY!”   
  
Akira tries to think back to a time when Morgana wasn’t this loud when he was a cat and he can’t recall one. Whether it was suggesting that Akira go to bed on time or complaining about a text in the middle of the night, Morgana was always loud - which balanced well because Akira never spoke.   
  
He leans in and kisses Akechi one more time before grabbing his bag and heading out the door.   
  
Don’t get taken away, Akechi thinks.   
  
Akira smiles at him, pulls on his shoes and leaves with Morgana skipping behind him.   
  
* * *   
  
**5/3 - Tuesday**

  
  
**RETURN OF THE PHANTOM THIEVES WEBSITE**

**POLL QUESTION: Do you want the true Phantom Thieves to return?**

**YES: 12%**   
  
**COMMENTS**

**Anon: Old news isn’t it?**

**Angle-gurl: Dose any1 still belive in this?!?**

**Anon: COME BACK!**

**Anon: What do u mean ‘true’?**

**Hatsune-luv: Who?**   
  
* * *   
  
**Makoto:** We heard! Suzui and Morgana are back and...Morgana is human?   
  
**Haru:** Wow. How does it feel?   
  
**Makoto:** We should probably get him a phone so he can participate in these chats.   
  
**Ann:** I am so glad you’re okay, Shiho.   
  
**Shiho:** Next time I come back to Tokyo for a visit, it won’t involve shadows ;)   
  
**Ann:** Yes please.   
  
**Yusuke:** Good news about you both, but is there any progress on the situation over there? Shadows and Loki?   
  
**Akechi:** Work in progress.   
  
**Shiho:** So long as the shadows don’t get their hands on Akira, technically we should be okay.   
  
**Ann:** Technically?   
  
**Akechi:** It’s a theory. A solid one. So long as they don’t get him, they can’t find us.   
  
**Shiho:** They used Yu to find the other persona users - including Rise. Which means they must need the leaders of the generations. Since Yu’s generation is gone, ours is next. They’re going to target Akira, they can’t find us without him.   
  
**Haru:** Why specifically the leader though?   
  
**Futaba:** That would have a lot to do with that wild card thing we found out about last year. Akira was where it started for us.   
  
**Ryuji:** How the hell are you all awake and talking already? It’s six in the morning, go back to sleep!   
  
**Ann:** You should be getting up and getting ready for school already!   
  
**Ryuji:** Fuck that…   
  
**Yusuke:** Eloquent as ever.   
  
**Ishida:** Morning everyone.   
  
**Haru:** Morning! :)   
  
**Futaba:** Lucky you even got to sleep, Ryuji, I haven’t slept yet.   
  
**Ann:** O_O   
  
**Futaba:** Spent all night tracking down Jax and I think I’ve got a solid lead. He can’t run from me now!!  >:D   
  
**Makoto:** That’s both….comforting and concerning.   
  
**Akechi:** I was going to go for just plain scary.   
  
**Ryuji:** Ugh.   
  
**Haru:** Ryuji. Silent mode.   
  
**Ann:** Don’t tell him that, he might actually do it, sleep in and be late for class!   
  
**Shiho:** Wouldn’t be the first time. Remember middle school?   
  
**Ann:** Every single morning…   
  
**Ryuji:** Don’t gang up on me like that!   
  
**Makoto:** Anyway, good luck on that lead Futaba. If we can help out in any way, let us know.   
  
**Futaba:** Will do. Has anyone heard from our leader?   
  
**Ishida:** Akechi?   
  
**Akechi:** I’m assuming if he was awake, he’d have noticed this chat group by now.   
  
**Haru:** Unless he keeps his phone on silent.   
  
**Ryuji:** Morgana stayed with him last night. God knows how much sleep he actually got.   
  
**Ishida:** Well he’s not a cat anymore. It’s not like he’d have slept on Akira…   
  
**Haru:** What an interesting mental image…   
  
**Yusuke:** Indeed.   
  
**Makoto:** Nothing to say about that Akechi?   
  
**Akechi:** Apparently he still licks himself clean.   
  
**Ann:** That’s...maybe someone needs to teach Morgana how to be human.   
  
**Makoto:** I meant do you have any thoughts on our leader sleeping in the same bed as another guy.   
  
**Akechi:** Jealousy is very unattractive, Niijima.   
  
**Ryuji:** What are you two on about?   
  
**Makoto:** Nevermind. Someone ping him before he’s late to school as well.   
  
**Shiho:** We have a plan for today.   
  
**Ishida:** Get more details from Ran and keep our leader safe.   
  
**Ann:** But why would they turn Morgana into a human? He was very useful to us as a cat. He could get into places we couldn’t.   
  
**Akechi:** There must be a reason. Unfortunately the people responsible are now long gone.   
  
**Shiho:** Unfortunately.   
  
**Futaba:** On my end, I’m going to track down Jax. He’s been the one stopping me from getting the information I need and I think he might be involved with these Fake Phantom Thieves.   
  
**Haru:** What’s your plan? Do you know who he is?   
  
**Futaba:** He’s either not very good or he’s not trying to hide. The address I keep getting goes into the IT lab of the school, which means he’s very likely a club member. I signed up for the club and will start today.   
  
**Makoto:** Be on your guard. It’s not likely that he’s bad at this considering he gave you some trouble which means he wants you to find him. If he knows who you are, he’ll recognise you the second you walk in there.   
  
**Futaba:** I’m actually counting on it. We need a lead on who these fake Phantom Thieves are and if Jax is in any way involved, we need to take risks to find out if we can get anything out of him.   
  
**Ryuji:** How? By tying him up and beating the shit out of him?   
  
**Futaba:** We’ll leave that as Plan B if Plan A doesn’t work out.   
  
**Makoto:** …   
  
**Haru:** *sigh*   
  
**Akira:** I’m awake.   
  
**Ann:** THANK GOD. I was afraid the shadows got you already.   
  
**Ishida:** Did Morgana sleep on you?   
  
**Akira:** He slept on the floor.   
  
**Ishida:** :( Boring.   
  
**Yusuke:** Just what were you imagining Ishida?   
  
**Ishida:** Only interesting things.   
  
**Ryuji:** I give up. I’m getting up now.   
  
**Ann:** Seriously, you’re hopeless in the morning.   
  
**Makoto:** Be careful today everyone. Especially you, Akira!   
  
* * *   
  
Stopping in front of the IT room, Futaba takes a deep breath and steels herself. Since last year, she’s been taking steps towards being a more social and outgoing person - and with Akira’s tutelage, she managed to do a lot of things she never thought she’d be capable of.   
  
But some things are ingrained and that first flutter of nerves before entering a new room filled with strangers is still enough to give her pause. She may not be a hermit anymore but she sure as hell is an introvert.   
  
But they need this. Somewhere in that room, Jax is a member and he’s waiting. He’d sent that signal deliberately. There’s no way a hacker like him could be stupid enough to accidentally leave his signal. Which means he wants Futaba to find him.   
  
Of course she’d done some research before signing up for the IT club. It has a total of four members and all of them are male. The club president is a third year named Hiro and from everything Futaba has managed to find out, he’s a brown noser with his eyes set on Keio University. Every single member in that club knows their stuff so any one of them could be Jax.   
  
All Futaba has to do, really, is either go in there and figure it out herself or wait for Jax to make his move first.   
  
She’d rather beat him to the punch. After all, since none of the students in that club are actually named Jax, that means that ‘Jax’ is a code name. Of course.   
  
She takes one more breath before opening the door and heading inside. Akira’s training doesn’t stop the rush of nerves that takes over her and makes her want to turn right around and go home again but she steels herself. She has to find Jax, she needs to find the fake Phantom Thieves and they’re running on borrowed time.   
  
Hiro comes to her first. He’s really tall. About a head taller than Akira himself. His eyes are tiny, his head is smaller than his body which is not only tall but also muscular.   
  
When Futaba thinks of a guy who knows his shit in IT, the image that comes to mind is an underfed nerd, not a beefcake.   
  
“You must be Sakura Futaba,” Hiro says, extending his hand to her “I’m Hiro. This is the IT Club.”   
  
Futaba blinks at his hand and takes it. Why he couldn’t just bow like a normal Japanese person, she’s not sure. She notices the other three in the room briefly look up before turning back to their screens.   
  
“You’re the first girl we’ve had in this club since…” Hiro pauses to think and turns to the redhead in the right hand corner of the room “How long has it been?”   
  
The redhead looks up. His hair is the colour of a fire engine and it’s a wonder he hasn’t been expelled for it yet. He has dark eyes and his uniform is a little askew - as if he didn’t bother to check he was buttoning it up right this morning.   
  
“Been about two years,” the boy drawls. He has a western dialect and there’s a lazy drawl to the way he talks that tells Futaba he came right out of Osaka.   
  
“Three actually,” a voice pipes up from the back. The boy who spoke has jet black hair, much neater than the redhead. His uniform is pristine and reminds Futaba vaguely of the way Makoto used to present herself when she was in uniform. The way he speaks reminds her of Makoto as well.   
  
They turn to the last boy who is on the left side of the room. There’s nothing particularly distinguishable about him. His uniform doesn’t stand out as either scruffy or too neat and his hair is dark, bangs hanging just over his eyes. He doesn’t even look up from his computer as he shrugs and continues what he was doing. He doesn’t spare Futaba more than one glance.   
  
“Anyway, we’re glad to have a girl in our group again,” Hiro smiles and there’s something off putting about the way he smiles. He guides Futaba to an unused computer of her own and sits her down “Now uh, in this club we mainly just do our own thing. Programming and that sort of stuff so if you wanna look at nail art on Pinterest, go right ahead.”   
  
Futaba looks at him in amazement. She looks down at her uniform and wonders if there’s anything about her that would even remotely tell him she’s the kind of girl who would join an IT club just so she can look at nail art. He leaves her alone before she can tell him he’s a sexist jerk and goes back to his computer at the head of the room.   
  
Futaba takes a breath and looks around. Okay. Four guys. One of them is Jax. Now that she can see them, she doesn’t have much more to go on. Online, nothing Jax did gave away any clue about him. The only clue she had was that his signal was coming from here, deliberately so, which means he’s one of them.   
  
She logs in and makes a note in her mind about the things she does know about this group. The head is Hiro. Third year. Beefcake. Sexist asshole. The redhead is called Taro. Osaka-born by the sounds of his dialect. Suspended once for disobeying the school rules but nothing was done to push him to obey evidently. God knows why he’s in this group.   
  
The nerd sitting behind her is a second year called Junichi. Straight A honour student with his eyes on only the most prestigious school in Japan. His parents are also loaded.   
  
Futaba turns her eyes on the last one. His name is Takeshi. The silent one but also the only one she couldn’t dig up much dirt on. He has a mother, a father, a sister who is studying overseas and he keeps his head down. His grades are average, not too high and not too low. Going by deduction and instinct alone, he’s her first choice to be Jax.   
  
“Fuck!” Taro blurts. Futaba looks over and from her vantage point, she can see some gaming site on his screen. She can also see the error message that just popped up, prompting the redheads swearing.   
  
Hiro looks up “What? Lose your game again?”   
  
“Fucking server’s on the blink,” Taro smacks the side of the monitor “Thought you got that fixed last week?”   
  
“I tried my best,” Hiro shrugs “But they’d rather use the school funding on mental health rather than IT.”   
  
“My last school had enough funds to use on both pursuits,” Junichi sniffs “This school however...ugh.”   
  
Taro turns around and leans back in his seat “Why did you leave your prissy-ass school again?” he drawls “You keep complaining how shit this one is, but you’re still here.”   
  
“My father had to take the job here,” Junichi snaps and it’s obvious this isn’t the first time he’s had to tell Taro that “And we had to move. Were it up to me, I’d still be at Aoyama.”   
  
Futaba hums. So Junichi was attending Aoyama at some point. She wonders if he recognises Ryuji and figures that even if he does, Junichi isn’t the sort who’d ever try and talk to the blonde. He’s kind of got a bad rep.   
  
From where she’s sitting, she can see everyone’s screens except for Junichi’s. Taro is on some online MMORPG game, Hiro is flicking through a forum about steroids and Takeshi is playing solitaire.   
  
Nobody here is doing programming. She doubts Junichi is. No programming or hacking thing would have the quiet music of Hatsune Miku playing as the background noise.   
  
She thinks about it. The only person who can actually see her screen is Junichi and considering he’s not paying attention to her but rather on arguing with Taro - who is deliberately riling him up, she opens a window and starts hacking into the school system.   
  
As she does so, she keeps an eye on everyone - particularly Takeshi who is just boredly moving one card to another.   
  
A few quick keys and she turns the lights off first. The boys in the room look up but are given literally one second before Futaba attacks the main computer and turns on the main screen at the front of the room so everyone can see.   
  
She then makes the screen go blank and words appear in the middle.   
  
TOOK YOUR INVITATION, JAX. She types YOUR TURN.   
  
“What’s this?!” Hiro stands up and rushes to the main computer.   
  
Futaba jumps right out of the program she was using, turning her screen to Pinterest before anyone else can see. Hiro turns the lights back on and tries to fix the main computer but when the words don’t go away, he leans down and unplugs the computer from the wall.   
  
“Don’t do that!” Taro barks “You’re not supposed to unplug a computer like that! Isn’t it bad for it or something?”   
  
“Who cares, some little shit hacked into it,” Hiro snaps back as he puts the plug back in “Besides, what was he going on about? This Jax person.”   
  
Futaba clicks her tongue and looks at the others in the room. If Jax is here - and she’s willing to bet he is - he’ll make his move sooner or later. It’s a dangerous game she’s playing but sooner or later, he’s going to have to make a move and when he does, she’ll see it.   
  
* * *   
  
Shibuya Station is as crowded as ever. People milling out of the Ginza line and the Yamanote, filling up the walkway as they go in every which direction. Yusuke leans back against the wall in his usual spot and watches them all pass.   
  
People watching has always been a hobby of his. It’s interesting sometimes, to see people of different walks, different ages, shapes, genders and nationalities wander around this crowded spot. In his mind he used to make up stories about where they’d come from. Judge from their clothes, their hair about their situations in their lives. Try to imagine what kind of lives they led and where they were going.   
  
Now it’s more like a distraction. One that keeps him from going home, falling asleep and dreaming about Ryuji all over again. He can’t even remember when it started but he dearly wishes it would stop. Especially considering at the rate things are going, Ryuji and Ann are either already dating or getting close to it. Ann is a dear friend too, he doesn’t want to get in the way of that.   
  
Besides, Ryuji is - as far as Yusuke is fully aware - straight. Yusuke thought he was straight as well but apparently that is not the case.   
  
He leans back against the wall and watches the people go by. Ann messaged him about the return of the Phantom Thieves website and everything is moving. Slower than he’d like but at least something is moving.   
  
He’s left alone to his thoughts for about half an hour before he feels a presence next to him. It being Shibuya Station and naturally crowded, he doesn’t pay it much attention until he hears a familiar voice talking to him.   
  
“Hmmm….so this is what you do after school.”   
  
Jumping, Yusuke looks to see the familiar mop of hair belonging to Sora. The other turns to look at him and he has a sickness mask over his face so Yusuke can only see his eyes. His uniform is hidden underneath a dark green camo jacket that is so big it practically engulfs his body. He has a dark green and black scarf wrapped around his shoulders and were it not for the hair and the voice, Yusuke might not have even recognised him.   
  
Yusuke raises an eyebrow at him “What are you doing here?”   
  
“I wanted to see you,” Sora shrugs “I was bored, class was over so I thought ‘where’s Yusuke?’ and voila, here you are.”   
  
“No, I mean why are you…” Yusuke gestures to his coat, his scarf and the sick mask “It’s not even cold.”   
  
“Oh this?” Sora picks at the mask “Lately I’ve been getting recognised. It’s actually kind of annoying. Last night I went to the supermarket and this old lady was like OH MY GOD MY GRANDDAUGHTER LISTENS TO YOU EVERY NIGHT AND NOW I LISTEN TO YOU AND OH MY GOD SIGN MY WALKING STICK!”   
  
Yusuke stares at him and Sora chuckles “Okay I’m exaggerating, she didn’t have a walking stick, she had false teeth. You would not believe how hard teeth are to sign.”   
  
No one seems to notice Sora now but Yusuke does remember that when Sora had dropped in on him on campus, people had recognised him and started talking. Those rumours follow Yusuke even now, how he managed to know someone like Sora. The fame the singer has right now is only growing.   
  
“My agent was looking for me too,” Sora shrugs and leans against the wall “Something about recording a new song I wrote. I’m a little iffy, it’s still rough and it’s not ready yet but my agent was all like WE NEED SOMETHING NEW WHILE YOU’RE STILL HOT so...I took the back entrance of my school and just kind of ran here.”   
  
Yusuke is trying to figure Sora out. They were practically strangers until he ran into them in Dome Town. He’d known Ann before but now he’s somewhat interested in Yusuke and Yusuke can’t figure out why. Why someone would just suddenly be interested in him and want to spend time with him.   
  
The last person who did that was Akira and Yusuke still doesn’t really understand why. It’s not as if he’s interesting, or makes an effort to go out on a limb unless something strikes him artistically. Going after Ann remains to be one of the boldest things he’s ever done whilst under Madarame’s thumb.   
  
He turns his eyes back to the crowd but he’s now distinctly aware of Sora’s presence next to him. When Akira was around, the other had a talent for either blending in perfectly or making himself known. Whichever suited his mood. When he wanted to blend, people could forget he was there but when he was in leader mode, it was impossible to ignore him. With Sora he almost has this aura that he unknowingly projects even when he’s in full on stealth mode.   
  
No amount of clothes and sick masks are going to hide what he is. Yusuke is an artist, he knows when he’s looking at art and for one reason or another, because of his voice and the beautiful way he twists words, Sora is something special.   
  
Another reason why Yusuke can’t figure him out.   
  
“You’re going to have to stop running from your agent at some point,” Yusuke mutters as he watches the people wandering around “Your popularity is rising and I agree about you not releasing things until they’re perfect but your agent wants something out of you whilst people still know your name. It’s his job.”   
  
Sora looks at him “Would you push out a crappy painting on time if someone demanded it of you?”   
  
Yusuke falls silent. Of course he wouldn’t. Art takes time and he’d rush it for no one.   
  
“Point,” he mutters and shoots a wry smile at Sora.   
  
The singer grins and turns his eyes back to the crowd “So what do you do here? People watch?”   
  
“People can be interesting,” Yusuke replies softly and nods to a foreign couple with a map in their hands “Take those two for instance. I could create an entire story about them.”   
  
“Foreigners who clearly look lost,” Sora says, analysing them “The woman is pointing to the picture of Hachiko which means they’re looking for the exit.”   
  
“Yes but where do you think they’re from?” Yusuke asks “What language do you suppose they speak? Not every foreigner comes in here speaking English.”   
  
Sora smiles and hums “Judging by their clothes and the way they’re dressed, they’re not from this hemisphere. Australia perhaps?”   
  
Yusuke shrugs “The beauty of people watching is that you can decide that yourself. You can imagine stories and try to read people, from that comes art and paintings.”   
  
Sora looks at him with a strangely curious expression and Yusuke blinks “...what?”   
  
“You’re an interesting person, Yusuke,” Sora tells him.   
  
Yusuke can’t remember the last time someone called him interesting. Strange, yes. Curious, yes. Interesting though?   
  
Sora pulls his sick mask off just a little and smiles at Yusuke.   
  
“When we’re done watching people, lets go get some food,” he says and Yusuke is confused.   
  
“We?” he asks. Sora is going to watch people with him?   
  
“Why not?” Sora shrugs and puts his mask back on. He turns his eyes back to the people “This looks like fun.”   
  
Yusuke turns his eyes back to the people as well. He’s still confused but Sora’s presence isn’t harmful or something he hates. Rather the opposite, it’s almost comforting.   
  
People pass and ignore them both, neither of them mind.   
  
* * *   
  
“Here’s what it comes down to,” Akechi says when the waitress leaves their table alone. He’s sitting with Ishida, Shiho, Ryuji, Morgana and Akira and he looks tired. So does Akira. Neither of them had slept well the night before.   
  
“It’s hard to find Ran and we don’t have time,” Akechi tells them “The only place we know where he is for sure is the Elmore Host Club.”   
  
Ryuji winces “None of us have any business bein’ in a host club. It’s not like we can walk right in and ask Ran or even Rina herself what she thinks that place is.”   
  
“I agree,” Akechi sighs “I pulled a favour to get in last night. It won’t work again. We need another way in.”   
  
Shiho puts her cup down and looks at them “Maybe if we look at this from Rina’s point of view. Try and imagine how she sees that place? How any woman sees that place?”   
  
The group goes quiet and Morgana frowns “Well...women who go to that bar must be….lonely...right?”   
  
“I’ll never understand chicks who pay for company like that,” Ryuji mutters and reaches for his drink “They know the hosts are pretending.”   
  
Akechi hums and glances at Akira, who has bags under his eyes. He smirks “So, how was your first night as a human, Morgana?”   
  
Morgana looks up and smiles “Not bad. But these hands…” he brings his hands up “I’m used to eating like a cat, you know?”   
  
Ryuji twitches a little “You can’t do that now, it’ll look weird.”   
  
“Then there was that shower thing,” Morgana adds and Akechi gives Akira a pointed look.   
  
_Tell me you didn’t have to get in there and teach him how to shower,_ he thinks.   
  
Akira just smiles at him _Why do you ask?_   
  
Akechi kicks him under the table and only Ishida notices the interaction at all.   
  
“Rina is a divorced woman in her forties,” Shiho points out, steering the conversation back to what they were supposed to be focussing on “She can’t be too different from other women her age who go into host clubs. Back in Tokyo, the host clubs in Kabukicho are very popular with that demographic and it’s really obvious as to why.”   
  
She gets every single boy staring at her blankly and sighs, if Ann, Futaba, Makoto or Haru were here with her, they’d have gotten it right away.   
  
“She’s lonely,” Shiho finally says “Hosts are paid to be welcoming and they’re usually very good at it. They can make a woman feel like she’s loved and wanted.”   
  
“But it’s an act,” Ryuji frowns “They know that. That’s why they have to pay for it. They know it’s fake.”   
  
“A really good host will make you forget it,” Shiho answers “Either that or he’ll make it worth it. If Rina is like almost every other woman in that bar, then she’s lonely and she wants company. Host bars are filled with good looking men, usually young, who are very good at talking and making you relax. Maybe Ran isn’t exceptional but he’s there and Rina is his client. Even Rina can’t have enough power to make him be hired there which means the owner must think he’s charismatic enough.”   
  
She gets another moment of silence before Ishida finally speaks up “...do you go to host clubs?”   
  
“No but it’s not that hard to imagine,” Shiho points out “Ann would agree with me. If we just go by that, then we have Rina’s point of view.”   
  
“Okay,” Akechi leans back in the booth “A lonely woman in her forties breaks several rules to keep Ran in that host club. She’s his client, how does she see that place?”   
  
They look around at each other and Akira brings out his phone “We should go to the bar,” he suggests “The sooner we figure out how to get in this palace, the sooner we can start fixing whatever this situation is.”   
  
“On Loki’s orders,” Ryuji adds grumpily but he gets up and follows.   
  
They have no choice and Loki is easier to fight than shadows right now.   
  
* * *   
  
As the club is packing up, Futaba has come to several conclusions but not one is helpful. After her subtle attack on the IT club, Jax did not answer. Of course she didn’t expect he’d come right out at her but she did expect something.   
  
After all, he’d lured her here and it was kind of obvious who she was given that she was the only new member and the others had been here long enough not to be her.   
  
Taro bounces out of the room first. He mutters something about needing to eat and he vaguely reminds her of a more hopeless Ryuji. Junichi leaves next, back straight and books tucked under his arm. Futaba sighs, okay, she’s made her move. Two moves and Jax has to make the next call. Her suspicions are basically on Takeshi or Hiro and the most likely is Takeshi simply because she can’t read him.   
  
He’s about as secretive and as quiet as she imagined Jax would be.   
  
She logs out next and just as she picks up her bag, Hiro jumps up.   
  
“So?” he asks as she makes her way to the doorway “What do you think?”   
  
Futaba watches at him. The IT club is basically a place where these guys hang out for three or so hours doing whatever the hell they want on the computer. There’s not much talking, not much tutoring, not much of anything. If she has to be brutally honest, she thinks the IT Club is a pretty weak name for what is actually a waste of time.   
  
Just as well she likes being on the computer but she would have had a better time spending the last three hours in her room on her own computer.   
  
She shrugs and tries to smile but there’s something about Hiro that’s extremely off putting. Or unsettling, she can’t put her finger on it. It could be the fact that he looks like he could bench press 100 of her but she has a feeling it’s something else.   
  
“Not a bad place to spend your after school time,” Hiro tells her as he walks her to the door “Plus it looks good on your university applications if you say you were part of the IT club.”   
  
Futaba wonders if she can talk about openly ripping people off like that when she is a Phantom Thief who does this all the time.   
  
She kind of expects Hiro to stop at the door and see her off but when he follows her out into the hallway, a red alarm in her mind goes off immediately. She turns around and tries to smile “I’ll be heading home,” she tells him “I’ll see you next-”   
  
That’s about as far as she gets before Hiro pushes her into the wall and places a hand beside her head. She stares. Kabe-don?! Really?   
  
“Nice trick you pulled today with the lights,” Hiro grins and now his smile is very off putting. His eyes darken and Futaba stares incredulously. Wait...THIS IS JAX?!   
  
Hiro leans in “So, you’re looking for Jax huh? My turn, don’t you think?”   
  
Futaba doesn’t say anything. If this guy really is Jax, he brought her here on purpose. He set very obvious bait and she bit it. It’s his move.   
  
Hiro leans in a little closer and Futaba doesn’t want him any closer. She’s holding her own but it’s taxing, she doesn’t want him too close. He smells of strong cologne and he’s getting too close.   
  
“You took my bait, that means you want me, doesn’t it?” Hiro asks and his other hand slides along Futaba’s side. Now the alarm bells in her head are screaming full volume. She grabs his wrist but his strong hands slip under her shirt and up her bare skin.   
  
“Woah no!” Futaba yelps and tries to push him off.   
  
But she’s tiny and Hiro is huge. He uses his other hand to rip her hands off him and pin them to the wall. He leans in and sniffs her neck. Futaba wants to scream but the horror, the shock of the situation is blocking her voice. Hiro’s hand is sliding up to her bra and Futaba is stunned.   
  
This is really happening?   
  
She’s trying to pull her arms free but his hand over her wrists is like an iron vice and it hurts. She wants to scream but she can’t, her throat is blocked with overwhelming fear and numb shock. She’s only been like this once before: when her mother died right in front of her.   
  
Just as Hiro touches her skirt, a sharp voice sounds from the IT doorway.   
  
“Hiro.”   
  
They look up to see Takeshi poke his head out and look at them. He takes in the sight but his expression doesn’t change as he holds out a white cellphone. Presumably belonging to Hiro.   
  
“Call for you. It kept ringing and you didn’t come back so I answered it in case it was important,” he says, deadpan.   
  
Hiro doesn’t let go of Futaba right away, instead he looks annoyed “And? Who is it?” he asks and Futaba prays it’s someone important so he’ll let her go.   
  
“Some girl,” Takeshi shrugs “If you want me to tell her to fuck off?”   
  
Hiro groans and finally lets Futaba go. She rubs her wrists and watches in shock as Hiro strides over to Takeshi and snatches the phone out of his hand. He disappears into the IT room to take the call and when he is gone, Takeshi pulls his bag over his shoulder and strides over to Futaba.   
  
Futaba feels numb. Violated, yes, but mostly numb. She can’t believe that just happened, to her of all people.   
  
Takeshi looks her up and down for a moment before tilting his head “Come on,” he tells her “I’ll walk you out.”   
  
He starts to walk but Futaba doesn’t follow. He pauses and turns to look at her.   
  
“Unless you want to wait until he comes back?”   
  
That gets Futaba’s legs to move. She picks her bag up and hurries after Takeshi.   
  
* * *   
  
The sun has already set by the time the group congregate a little away from Elmore Host Bar. Akira watches the salary men coming out of their work buildings and making their commute home. He sees teenagers chilling on the streets and notices some hosts coming to work for the night as well as the earlybird women who come in to start their night with them.   
  
“Okay,” Ryuji looks over his phone and pulls the navigation app up “Akane Rina, Elmore Host bar.”   
  
The app beeps, it’s a hit but they need one more thing.   
  
“This is almost like an escape to her,” Shiho hums as she looks at the neon lighting of the host bar. She turns to Ryuji “Maybe it’s a paradise?”   
  
Negative. The voice on the app tells them so.   
  
“A vacation perhaps?” Akechi offers “A resort?”   
  
Negative.   
  
“A beach?” Ryuji suggests.   
  
Negative.   
  
“Hosts aren’t exactly resort things,” Ishida shrugs “Maybe….maybe it’s more normal? A love hotel?”   
  
Negative.   
  
“A brothel?” Morgana tries “Maybe she sees the host bar as an actual host bar?”   
  
Negative and negative again.   
  
Akira glances at the building. It’s a place where women go for the pleasure of company that almost seems authentic. These men will talk to them, pour them champagne, laugh with them, make them feel loved.   
  
Treat them like princesses.   
  
He turns to Ryuji “A palace.”   
  
It’s a hit. The app makes a noise and the group feel their surroundings blur at once. The familiar feeling of their stomachs dropping hits them all at once and as their vision blurs, so too does the atmosphere.   
  
When they open their eyes, they’re not standing on a dirty street anymore. Instead they’re standing on the cleanest cobblestone road. The dark business surroundings of buildings and shops has disappeared and in its place are vast green plains, sparkling fresh cut grass with a long, almost golden cobblestone road that winds and twists down as far as the eye can see.   
  
They turn around to where Elmore Host Bar was and instead of an almost hidden host bar, they see an enormous, sparkling castle.   
  
It looks like something right out of a Disney movie. Complete with the rainbow.   
  
Akira looks down. His phantom thief outfit is already on. The others are dressed as well, including Morgana who wears a masquerade mask over his eyes. His outfit is kind of like the human version of his outfit when he’d been a cat.   
  
Except this time the tail coming out of the back of his costume is a fake.   
  
“Well, you have a tail,” Ishida laughs “At least that’s familiar.”   
  
Morgana hums and looks over himself. He holds his arms out and observes how the outfit fits around him perfectly “I could get used to being human,” he announces and turns to look at the palace “The fact that we’re already dressed means she’s alert.”   
  
“Of course she’s alert,” Akechi smirks “She knows what she’s doing is wrong. She’s keeping her bosses in the dark about it. If they ever found out, she’d be fired.”   
  
“Well then,” Morgana grins “Let’s find a way in to start with and find out what we’re dealing with here.”   
  
“I’m no expert with castles,” Ishida shrugs “But every movie I’ve ever seen says we should start with a weak point in the outer walls.”   
  
The group start walking around the outer walls. The golden gates are locked tight with guards on the outside but that’s nothing new. Akira feels an almost refreshing breeze as he looks along the outer gates. The castle is protected, first, by a tall, pristine wall that wraps around the entire place. It’s covered in vines and it’s beautiful but he spots the hole right away.   
  
“She thinks she’s some sort of...what, princess?” Ryuji asks as Ishida and Akechi go to rip the hole in the vines open so they can climb through.   
  
“That must be it,” Shiho shrugs “It’s not that hard to imagine either, Ran is a host. He’s paid to treat her like one.”   
  
They rip the hole open wide enough and Akechi climbs through first. Ishida follows with Shiho, Morgana, Ryuji and finally Akira afterwards. On the other side of the castle walls is a beautiful, glistening garden, a moat around the actual castle and if logic has anything to say about this, the door to the castle is also the bridge they’re going to need to get across.   
  
“We need a way to get that door down,” Morgana says, a thoughtful expression on his face “Any ideas?”   
  
“It’s a host bar,” Akechi points out “In order to get into a host bar, you have to be a client.”   
  
“Or a host,” Ishida adds and turns around to look at Akechi. He tilts his head “Hmm...you could fit the part.”   
  
“It wouldn’t work here,” Morgana points out “We are going to need way to get in in real life. That way, the gate will open for us here.”   
  
“Kind of like how Makoto had to be a customer of the bank in order to get in,” Ryuji recalls and Morgana nods.   
  
“Exactly like that. We need a legitimate way to get into that host club. Either by being a client or…” he turns and looks at Akechi “Hm…”   
  
Akechi raises an eyebrow at them “I have limits,” he warns them “I draw the line at becoming a host for the sake of getting into a palace.”   
  
Akira looks at him and he has to admit, they have a point. If a host is paid to look attractive, talk well and make someone else feel comfortable, then Akechi has that in spades. There’s also the added plus that although Akechi changed his age in order to remain a high school student, he’s technically not underage.   
  
“The alternative would be finding one of us to be a client and the only person who can feasibly pull that off would be Haru,” Shiho points out “And she’s not here.”   
  
“We don’t have enough time to make her come here too,” Ryuji adds with a small smirk. He likes this idea “Loki gave us an order and we don’t know how much time we have. You’re our best shot.”   
  
Akechi stares at them all “We do not have enough time to get me a job at a host bar! This isn’t an overnight thing!”   
  
“You talked your way in last night,” Ishida points out “I’m pretty sure you can talk your way into at least a training session. That should be enough to get us in.”   
  
Morgana nods “For a limited amount of time but yes, that would work.”   
  
Akechi looks at Akira but he’s finding no help there either. Akira shrugs. Their points are valid. Very valid. Akechi fits the part perfectly.   
  
Akechi looks at the closed palace and groans “I hate you all.”   
  
* * *   
  
Takeshi sets a small cup of green tea in front of Futaba and she’s still kind of shocked. He’d taken her to a cafe, it was open and full of people so she feels safe that he’s not about to try anything in a place as open as this.   
  
Still she can’t really believe that what happened, actually happened.   
  
She watches as the quiet boy sits in the seat across from her and starts putting sugar in his own coffee cup. He takes the sugar stick and opens three of them, pouring them all systematically into his coffee before finally stirring it with the stick provided by the cafe. He then calmly sets the stick down and brings the cup up to his lips to take a sip.   
  
Futaba stares at him and finally manages a croaky sentence “What happened?”   
  
Takeshi blinks at her and Futaba shakes her head “Did that really…?”   
  
He doesn’t say anything at first. Instead he calmly sets his cup down and wipes at a spot on the table with a tissue where he’d spilt a bit of sugar. He then puts the tissue away and nods “Yes, that happened,” he tells her “And it’s happened before. Hiro is...well let’s put it this way, he is probably the main reason we don’t have girls in that club. Or any club he’s involved in for that matter.”   
  
He takes another sip and Futaba looks at her hand. It’s shaking. Her fingertips are cold and she recognises what this feeling is. She’s had it before. Once her brain processes what is going on, the anxiety that locked her in her room to begin with will take over her and she won’t be able to stop thinking about it.   
  
He didn’t get further than touching her bra, bruising her wrists and licking her neck but that was more than far enough. Futaba had witnessed the death of her mother but she’d never been touched by another guy like that. Especially not when she didn’t want it.   
  
“Sakura,” Takeshi begins and Futaba shakes her head.   
  
“Futaba,” she corrects him “Nobody calls me Sakura.”   
  
He nods and puts his cup down again “Futaba,” he says “When this hits, make sure you’re not alone.”   
  
Futaba looks at him and Takeshi levels his gaze with hers “Because it is going to hit. Your brain will process this and when it realises what happened, it’ll hit like a shovel to the head. Don’t be alone when it does.”   
  
Futaba is shivering. She has a cup of green tea in front of her but she can’t touch it.   
  
“Does he normally…?” she begins and she’s trying to think. Hiro is Jax. He’d given her his location and she’d tried to take the bait in the hopes that he’d give her something to go on. Not try to rape her.   
  
Takeshi shrugs “Again, he is the reason why girls don’t come to the groups he’s involved with.”   
  
The logical solution would be to quit the IT club and fight Jax her own way. In her room. Where it’s safe.   
  
She swallows hard and lifts her shaking hands to take her cup. It takes some effort but she manages at least one polite sip before she puts the cup back down and looks at Takeshi “Why are you here?”   
  
He knows what she means. He’s not stupid. She’s not asking why he saved her, she’s asking why he stayed.   
  
He finishes his cup calmly and hums “I’ll walk you home,” he tells her “Just remember what I said. When it hits, make sure you’re not alone.”   
  
Futaba thinks of Sojiro. She wants to go home. She looks at Takeshi, he nods and grabs his bag “Come on then,” he tells her “I’ll walk you home.”   
  
It’s cold and dark outside. Futaba pulls her school coat on tighter around herself and silently walks alongside Takeshi. He doesn’t talk. She can’t talk. Their footsteps are almost loud as they walk along the sidewalk and Futaba’s mind is racing.   
  
It’s the first time someone has touched her like that. The first time she has come face to face with someone who could have seriously hurt her and he wasn’t a shadow. He wasn’t something she could fight, he was a boy in her school who really could have raped her right there.   
  
But he’s also Jax. Her rival, her access into the fake Phantom Thieves.   
  
If he’s her only way in, is she going to have to see him again? Is she going to have to stay in the IT club just to try and get to Jax and somehow find a way through him? See if he’s connected at all? Is it worth it? The risk had seemed much more worthwhile before she realised Jax was a large, intimidating third year who didn’t understand the concept of consent.   
  
She starts wondering why she didn’t fight harder. Why she didn’t scream. Why she couldn’t fight the shock in her brain and screamed out for help. Why she didn’t kick him in the balls and run but the truth of the matter is that in the moment, she hadn’t been able to.   
  
Her wrists are aching. They’re going to bruise. She can still feel his tongue on her neck, his hand on her bra, on her skin, staining it with his rough touch.   
  
When they reach her gate, Takeshi eyes her carefully and watches as she opens the gate to her house. She forgets to bow and thank him, she forgets to thank him for saving her but it’s on her mind. It just doesn’t come out.   
  
He doesn’t follow. He stays at the footpath and watches as she opens the front door and wanders inside.   
  
Futaba closes the door behind herself. She can smell Sojiro’s curry from the kitchen. The familiar scent of coffee invades her senses and wakes her up. Futaba drops her bag and looks up, her entire body is shaking, tears rush to her eyes and she just barely manages a weak cry.   
  
“Sojiro!” she calls. Her voice is shaking, she’s barely holding herself up.   
  
Sojiro comes out of the kitchen and comes to the doorway just in time to catch her as she falls into his arms, grabs him tight and starts to cry.   
  
* * *   
  
By the time the night ends, Yusuke is about as close to reading Sora as he was before. The other is a mystery.   
  
They go to eat yakinku and when they’re in their own area, Sora feels safe enough to take off the coat, the scarf and the mask. He sets it aside and since Yusuke isn’t much of a talker, Sora takes the opportunity to tell him about everything.   
  
He tells him about the music he’s in the middle of writing (but it’s not finished yet), he tells him about his pushy manager, about the times he’s been recognised in public and how he’s not at all used to any of this and it’s not actually what he wanted. He tells Yusuke about the photoshoots he doesn’t want because the agency is trying to sell him and his beauty, not his music and in a way Yusuke can relate.   
  
He’d take the same stance. If anyone tried to make a living off him and his face, rather than the art he cares about, he’d never stand for it either. In that way, he can understand Sora.   
  
But it’s different too because Yusuke knows where Sora came from. He can still remember that palace. The voice of young Sora, his young body had been the treasure. The object the Phantom Thieves had come to steal and it’s unforgettable. Unbelievable, even, to know the true horror that Sora had endured as a child. Now to see him like this. Yusuke knows where he came from and he can’t tell Sora he knows more than Sora could ever dare to dream.   
  
He wonders if Sora has nightmares about it. If Sora hides his past in a closet and tries desperately not to think about it. If Sora spent every moment of his childhood trying to forget what his own father had done to him.   
  
Yusuke jumps when he realises Sora is waving his arm, trying to get his attention.   
  
“Helloooo?” Sora giggles “Have you listened to a word I’ve just said?”   
  
“Sorry,” Yusuke smiles and leans over to turn the meat over on the hotpan “I was daydreaming.”   
  
“Clearly,” Sora grins “Am I that boring? I took public speaking lessons.”   
  
Yusuke looks up and puts the tongs down when he’s done turning the meat “Really?”   
  
Sora shrugs “Yeah. My manager signed me up for them once he realised I get stagefright. He told me my voice and music is perfect but he can’t sell me if I won’t get on the stage to sing.”   
  
Yusuke nods “You seem fine now.”   
  
If his last performance at the fashion show had been anything to go off. Yusuke hadn’t seen it personally himself but he’d heard it was a good show.   
  
“I learnt a trick,” Sora tells him happily “A trick I use whenever I’m onstage. Just imagine everyone naked.”   
  
That makes Yusuke choke “Does that actually work?!”   
  
“No but it’s amusing at least,” Sora laughs “Just imagine a completely naked audience.”   
  
Yusuke would rather not but he likes the way Sora laughs. It contrasts his image of a traumatised and abused child he’d seen in the palace.   
  
Yusuke hands the cooked meat out to their plates and puts more on the hot plate. He eats and as he does, Sora talks some more. He tells Yusuke about his school and how the teachers there are all highly trained professionals who are probably paid to never crack a smile or take a joke. Yusuke gathers that along with constantly running away from work and his manager, Sora isn’t the most devoted student either.   
  
“My history teacher hated my presentation,” Sora tells him “It wasn’t like I did it wrong. It was all about how humans come from monkeys. How was I supposed to know he’d take offence at me using his face on a monkey to demonstrate my point?”   
  
Another observation to make is that Sora is just weird. Somehow that quality only seems charming to Yusuke.   
  
By the time they finish their meal, Sora has talked his ear off and normally Yusuke would find that irritating. It’s not so much when Sora does it. Somehow it’s almost like a distraction he didn’t know he’d needed.   
  
They go down to the counter to pay and Yusuke, out of the corner of his eye, notices the bowl of breath mints next to the register. It has a huge red note that says DO NOT TAKE, RESERVED FOR CEO. Whatever that means.   
  
They head to the station and the night is well and truly over them, covering the city in futile darkness because Tokyo never sleeps and the lights are always on.   
  
They stop at the station and Yusuke turns to Sora “Well...tonight was...interesting,” he says “Thanks.”   
  
“No, thank you,” Sora pulls a breath mint from his pocket and hands it to Yusuke. It’s the same breath mint from the bowl that had specifically told them not to take any.   
  
Yusuke can’t help but laugh a little.   
  
“I had fun,” Sora beams at him “Let’s do it again soon.”   
  
Yusuke has a sneaking suspicion Sora will be the one to approach him first again. He nods and watches as Sora pulls his coat on again, covers his face with the mask and heads towards his train. He leaves Yusuke with the stolen breath mint in his hand and it’s not until Yusuke gets on his train and goes home that he realises Sora had successfully forced him to stop thinking about Ryuji.   
  
The entire time Sora was there, Yusuke had not spared one single thought for Ryuji. It’s almost...liberating not to think about him.   
  
It only lasts until Yusuke gets home again but the knowledge that Sora had taken his mind off Ryuji is somewhat comforting.   
  
Perhaps there is a way out of these painful feelings.   
  
* * *   
  
Akira looks up when Akechi comes out of the Elmore Host Club. He looks tired but he comes to the group and nods.   
  
“I pulled some strings and had to sweet talk the owner but she’s agreed to let me come on as a trainee starting tomorrow,” he announces and glares at them “I still hate this idea.”   
  
“Well done, Akechi,” Morgana chirps “With this, we should have an in now. Let’s infiltrate the palace tomorrow, I don’t want to leave this sitting too long.”   
  
“Sounds like a solid plan,” Ryuji cheers “Thanks Akechi.”   
  
Ishida pats his back and Akechi glares “I still hate you all.”   
  
“Let’s call it for tonight then,” Shiho suggests and looks at Akira “Are we safe though? We can’t forget there are shadows coming for Akira soon.”   
  
“With me there, they won’t have a single chance,” Morgana proclaims confidently “That’s the reason why they made me human after all. It must be.”   
  
Akechi shoots Akira a doubtful look and Akira knows he’s not looking forward to yet another night of being unable to sleep but there’s nothing they can do about it. There has to be a reason why Yu had made Morgana human and the shadows haven’t come yet.   
  
“Let’s go home then,” Ryuji suggests with a yawn “I’m beat and we’ve at least found an in to the palace. We’ll get this bitch in no time.”   
  
Ishida glances at Akechi but says nothing as the group disperse and start heading home.   
  
Morgana is chatty all the way back - as usual. It’s like when he was a cat, only this time Akira can’t just stuff him into his bag and zip it closed.   
  
When they get home, his parents barely acknowledge him. Akira brings Morgana upstairs where Morgana’s makeshift mattress bed is still on the floor. The boy flops onto it with a loud, satisfied sigh.   
  
“I like being human,” he declares and puts his hands behind his head “Wait til Lady Ann sees me,” he smiles and stares up at the ceiling “I can’t wait for her to come here.”   
  
Akira puts his bag down and sits on his bed but something is uneasy. It’s not coming from him either, it’s coming from Akechi. Even from here he can still feel the other, hear Akechi’s thoughts, jumbled and racing because the other is trying to think and he’s sleep deprived.   
  
“Akira,” Morgana looks at him “Your parents...have they always been like that?”   
  
Akira adopts a blank expression “Like what?”   
  
“Cold,” Morgana frowns in concern and sits up “I noticed it when I was a cat but not much. Now I can really see it...were they always like that? They barely say hello when you come home.”   
  
Akira pushes Akechi’s thoughts to the back of his mind for now and focuses on the conversation. Akechi’s constant thoughts are like a radio on a low volume. He can only hear him if he tunes in.   
  
“They weren’t always,” Akira tells the other boy “But after what happened with Shido, the conviction, the courts, the trouble they were put through and finally the decision to send me to Tokyo….they never forgave me for it.”   
  
Morgana shakes his head “But it wasn’t your fault!”   
  
That doesn’t erase the trouble that Shido had put them through. They can’t blame Shido so they blame Akira. Both of them.   
  
Akira shrugs and lies down on his bed and Morgana jumps up to sit down on the side. He looks at Akira and it’s still an adjustment to remember that this boy isn’t a cat anymore. He’s human and he’s pretty solid now on the side of the bed.   
  
“I remember thinking it before,” Morgana tells him “The whole time you were in Tokyo. They never came to visit, never messaged, never sent anything but your first box of clothes...do they still care?”   
  
Akira wants to tell him they do but right now he can’t be sure. Things had changed after Shido. It wasn’t his fault at all but at the same time, his parents couldn’t forget the scrutiny they’d been put through. The way the other people in the neighbourhood whispered about them. They were the people with the son who’d been arrested and sent away to Tokyo. They were the shame.   
  
They blamed Akira for all of it. Even now.   
  
Somehow the thought that his parents turned cold doesn’t hurt. Akira had the entire year in Tokyo to get used to the idea and he regarded his friends as his family in a way. His parents had changed after the Shido incident, but so had he.   
  
Morgana eventually lets it go. He brushes his teeth, washes up and curls up on his bed. Akira does the same but when he turns the light off and lies down, he can’t sleep.   
  
Akechi’s thoughts are still there and the silence makes him louder. Akechi thinks about Akira, about their situation. He agonises over their hidden enemies. The shadows. Loki. The fact that Loki was one of his own identities and he wonders if it’s linked somehow.   
  
If it’s just coincidence that their enemy, this Loki, has the same name as one of Akechi’s two persona’s.   
  
With the night comes the same thoughts over and over again. Akira feels it all. He sees it when he closes his eyes. A woman on the floor, a little boy shaking her, calling her name but she won’t wake up. There’s a pill box in her hand, it’s empty. There’s a woman in a black suit and she’s taking the boy away from the only home he’s ever known.   
  
The woman gives him to a family, they love him for a week and give him back saying it’s not good enough. The woman gives him to another family and the same thing happens. Akira feels the rejection, the longing for acceptance and love. The boy who wants someone to take him in and keep him, tell him they love him, tell him they want him but not one person does and the system fails him. The social workers toss him from one family to another and the same woman in the suit gets more and more irritated every time that boy is given back to her.   
  
Why? Why didn’t his mother stay alive for him? Why didn’t she love him enough to live for him? Why did his father leave? Why wasn’t he good enough? Is he broken? Is he ugly? Is there something about him that just makes every single parent want to give him back?   
  
It must be him. They don’t want him. Nobody wants him.   
  
Akira feels Akechi’s determination to rise above it. To find out who destroyed his mother and destroy him in turn. He feels that loneliness turn into anger and a deep seated determination to find acceptance. To make the world love him. Need him. Someone will need him. Someone will tell him to stay and they’ll love him, they’ll want him.   
  
Akira closes his eyes and pulls his blankets up but Akechi’s thoughts only get louder. His feelings, his emotions take over Akira and before Akira even realises what he’s doing, he rips the blanket off and heads out just after two in the morning.   
  
* * *   
  
“I should hang up,” Ryuji says when he checks the time on his phone.   
  
He’s sitting in his room, leaning against the wall on his bed and he’s been talking to Ann ever since he got home. She’d just called and they’d gotten to talking about everything. About the new human Morgana, about Loki, about Rina and the host club.   
  
Ryuji even tells her about how they made Akechi a temporary host and before he realises it, it’s already really late and they should be asleep.   
  
“Me too,” Ann says and he can hear her yawn “Thanks. For talking to me, I mean. I could have sent a message but…”   
  
“No, I…” Ryuji clears his throat awkwardly and tries to remind himself this is just Ann. He’s talked to her before on the phone, he doesn’t know why this has to be so awkward.   
  
Come on Ryuji, get a grip man.   
  
“I liked it,” he manages “Took my mind off….stuff…”   
  
Stuff. They have so much stuff these days. They’re all going to need therapy if they survive this.   
  
“Yeah, same,” Ann replies quietly “I just keep wondering...are we going to be alright?”   
  
Ryuji pauses. He’s supposed to reassure her. Say yes, trust that Akira is not going to be taken by shadows and that they’re not being hunted by possibly two different enemies.   
  
But he can’t lie to her. She’d never believe him anyway, she knows the score as well as he does and none of it looks good.   
  
“We have an in into the palace now,” he tells her instead “Whatever happens, we’re moving now.”   
  
He can practically hear her smile on the other end.   
  
“Night Ryuji,” she says softly and Ryuji feels something in his chest thump. A reaffirming thump that this is going where he wants it to go.   
  
“Night,” he replies and she hangs up first.   
  
He puts his phone down. It’s two in the morning and he should be asleep already. He lies down and takes a deep breath. Good. This is good. He’s a teenage boy, he’s allowed to have feelings like this. Ann is beautiful after all and it sounds like the feeling is mutual. Which is good.   
  
It almost feels natural how this is happening.   
  
But Ryuji feels a familiar unease as he closes his eyes. When he’s awake, he can fool himself. He and Ann are getting closer and he’s doing nothing to stop it. Why would he? He likes her, he can tell his brain he does.   
  
But when he’s asleep, when he has no control, it’s not Ann who appears in his dreams. Blue hair, thin artistic fingers, dark eyes.   
  
It’s not Ann. Ryuji’s dreams aren't kind enough to lie to him.   
  
* * *   
  
It’s nearly three in the morning when Akechi hears a knock on his door. His own thoughts have been so loud he’s barely heard Akira’s. He climbs out of bed (he wasn’t sleeping anyway) and goes to open his door without much thought.   
  
The second the door is opened, Akira - cold and smelling of the crisp night air - steps in, grabs Akechi by the shoulders and pulls him into a kiss so hard that Akechi’s thoughts finally stop. His brain goes quiet and so does Akira’s.   
  
He closes his eyes, drags Akira closer and shuts the front door.   
  
He doesn’t even know how they make it back to the bed. Akira’s leading the whole thing and Akechi is following. His back hits the mattress and he belatedly realises Akira had taken his shirt off and oh god, skin, so much skin.   
  
Akechi rushes to touch, hands gripping Akira’s naked back as he distantly realises Akira is pulling him out of his shirt too. He pulls back from the kiss for just a moment to let the other strip him bare before his lips are taken again and he kisses back.   
  
Akira is demanding, he’s in control but not for long because Akechi wants this just as badly. The first brush of clothed groins drags a moan from both boys and Akechi pulls Akira out of his jeans before rolling them over and pressing the younger into the mattress.   
  
There’s no thought. Nothing to feel but raw energy and heat. Hands in their hair, hands on their heated skin. Akechi finds out fast that Akira lets out the lowest moan in his ear when he touches his hard length and he rushes to do it again just to hear that same sound.   
  
If Akira’s voice dropped that low every time he spoke, Akechi would never be able to concentrate. That sexy tone is irresistible and Akechi isn’t in control anymore. Neither of them are. Akechi bites and kisses along Akira’s neck, he touches him and he doesn’t even realise they’ve both lost their underwear at some point, he just wants more of it.   
  
Everything is so tight, everything feels good. The spasms and waves of pleasure that engulf them both with each touch, each kiss and each moan is enough to make sure they’ll never think again. Wrapped in a cloud of need, Akechi doesn’t even think twice before he reaches for the bedside drawer and thanks his forever prepared and forward thinking mind for buying condoms.   
  
He pulls back and Akira’s face is pink. His eyes are dark and when he sees the condom, he only nods.   
  
Akechi climbs down the bed and he doesn’t actually have much experience here but he couldn’t call himself a detective if he hadn’t looked this part up beforehand. The websites he saw about this part all told him relatively the same thing when it came to sex. He wants it so badly that his hands are shaking even as he rolls the condom on himself and leans down to take Akira in his mouth and prepare him with his fingers as best he can.   
  
As with anything to do with theory, it’s much harder in practice.   
  
He waits, probing and pressing with his fingers until Akira moans again. Through his lashes he watches the boy underneath him, waits for Akira to sink his fingers in his hair, waits until the other is practically writhing before he pulls his fingers out and climbs back up again to hover over him.   
  
Akira doesn’t even wait. He leans up and takes Akechi’s mouth again. He doesn’t even care where it’s been and Akechi can only feel pulsing need as he lines himself up and pushes in. The shock makes them both gasp and grab for each other.   
  
Akira’s arms come around Akechi’s shoulders. His fingers grip at his bare back and for a moment they’re completely still. Joined and shocked by it.   
  
Panting hard, Akechi pulls his head back just a little so he can see Akira’s face. The younger looks at him and his eyes flutter, he’s breathing just as hard and he’s not letting go. He’s beautiful. He’s everything Akechi was looking for. Everything he wanted and the way he looks at him…   
  
Akira wants him. He needs him.   
  
Akechi moves and their minds shut off completely. Akira moans into his ear and he loves it, he loves the sound only he can rip out of Akira. He loves the way the other holds him and pulls him closer, he loves the way Akira kisses him and clings to him, like he can’t stand to be away from him.   
  
They rock together until they see stars, panting and moans getting louder and louder until they can’t hold on anymore, cries in the dark as they cling to each other and rock against each other, pulsating waves of pleasure rushing through them both.   
  
When it’s over, they sink into the mattress. Akechi deals with the condom and when he lies down, Akira curls into him. Still breathing hard, still catching their breath.   
  
Akechi loves how, even now, Akira holds him tightly.   
  
He turns and looks at the other “You know don’t you?” he says, his voice a breathless whisper.   
  
Akira just smiles and nods “I know,” he tells him “You can’t hide anything from me anymore, Goro.”   
  
Akechi feels the pull of sleep tugging at his eyes. Everything is warm. Everything feels safe, good, nothing else would beat how he feels now.   
  
He feels Akira’s lips curl into a smile against the skin of his shoulder and feels the kiss Akira plants there.   
  
“I love you too,” he breathes and Akechi closes his eyes and lets sleep take over at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the lateness, there has been stuff going on like job hunting (serious job hunting) Olympics, flailing over Yuzuru Hanyu and more concerts.   
> Hands up here who is planning on playing Persona 3 and 5 Dancing Star Night and...whatever the other one is called (I've been up all night, I've forgotten the name). Did you think it was possible if you only had a Japanese PS account? THINK AGAIN! I have one here and I logged in to find out the damn games need PlayStation VR and the camera installed. So if you have all of that AND a Japanese account, by all means play and let me know how it goes. I don't have a VR or a camera and I don't really wanna max out my card getting one but still...you don't need VR and a camera for a rhythm game. You shouldn't need it anyway. Did anyone else know about this?
> 
> Anyway, rant over, I love you all, I love your comments, they give me life and make me write :)  
> Yes, for those of you wondering this is a slow burn. Emphasis on the slow. We have a lot of things to get through and we are not even halfway through this story. Not even a quarter so sit tight, buckle up and prepare yourself for whatever my brain throws at you. Apologies in advance if it fails to wow you, I write these chapters at night when I really should be asleep.


	13. Heat

**5/4 - Wednesday**

  
  
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Akechi wakes up to the sound of something shuffling around his bedroom. His eyes are still heavy and the sun is still down when he opens his eyes to see Akira getting dressed beside the bed.   
  
A quick look at the alarm clock next to his bed tells him it’s almost five in the morning.   
  
Groaning, Akechi rolls over and reaches a hand out to touch Akira’s back. He curls up on his bed and watches as Akira pulls his pants up and does his belt up.   
  
“Do you have to go?” Akechi asks, his voice stuffy with sleep (what little he actually got). He pulls the blankets up to his shoulders and watches Akira get up and pull his shirt back on “You could just stay here, come with me to school in the morning.”   
  
“I left Morgana in my room,” Akira tells him as he smooths his shirt down and checks over himself to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything “Normally I wouldn’t really worry but he’s still not used to being human. I’m kind of afraid he’s going to shit in my potplant and cover it up like a cat.”   
  
“That would be a sight,” Akechi grins and he makes no effort to move. He’s naked and languid and warm under his blankets.   
  
Would be warmer if Akira would take his clothes off and get back under the covers with him but Akechi can see his reasoning. Sometimes being logical has it’s cons.   
  
Akira leans down and presses a kiss to Akechi’s head. He smooths his brown locks back from his face and crouches so he can look at him properly “We’re going to have to figure something out. Clearly we suck at sleeping alone.”   
  
“Clearly we suck at sleeping at all when we’re in the same bed,” Akechi points out with a wicked grin “I’ve only had one hour sleep you know.”   
  
Akira shakes his head “I find it a little ironic you think most when you’re in bed. My head was filled with nothing but directions.”   
  
“I’m being helpful,” Akechi answers “Besides, something tells me you haven’t had sex before either so how are you supposed to know what I want you to do? Same the other way around, you should think more when you’re in bed and out of it so I know what you want and what you like.”   
  
“I’ll give you a hint,” Akira tells him “I didn’t hate anything you did. In fact that trick you did with my ear, remember that for next time.”   
  
“Stored and locked in memory,” Akechi promises.   
  
Akira leans in again and kisses him once more before getting up and leaving Akechi to sleep. He heads to the doorway, pulls his shoes on and heads out the door as Akechi rolls over and closes his eyes to sleep a few more hours.   
  
* * *   
  
Ryuji splashes another handful of water in his face and leans against the counter. He’s exhausted and unfortunately it shows on his face. Through water droplets falling from his lashes, he looks at his reflection. He’s still the same, nothing has changed aside from the large bags underneath his eyes.   
  
It doesn’t make sense. None of it does. Why every single night he has to be haunted with dreams of blue hair when his phone is full of messages from Ann. Why it’s the thought of Yusuke moaning his name that turns him on but if Ann ever did it he’s not sure he’d have the same reaction.   
  
In fact he’s terrified he won’t react at all.   
  
He closes his eyes and tries to think of her. It hasn’t been that long since he last saw her and he’s been talking to her everyday since then. He knows it’s because she needs a friend but there’s something under that and he can feel it. Something that bubbled last year and just needs a little push.   
  
He tries to imagine her blonde hair, how it would look out of the pigtails she always keeps it in. Her slim body, long legs, Ann is a gorgeous creature and there’s no denying it. She also has a nice pair of breasts he tends to like staring at when she’s being careless but no matter how hard he tries, the image of Ann isn’t helping.   
  
Ryuji huffs to himself and checks the time on his phone. He’s still got a few hours before he has to actually get ready for school. His mother will be up in another hour and the messages will probably start coming once Ann is awake but still...he has time.   
  
He looks down and palms himself. This is Yusuke’s fault. He’d woken up like this after a particularly evil dream involving Yusuke and ice cubes. Ryuji takes a breath and slips his hand under his pants, breath hitching and eyes fluttering as he finds himself and starts stroking gently.   
  
Not Yusuke. Ann. He likes Ann. He likes GIRLS. He thinks of her hair and wonders what it would be like to run his fingers through them, push her hair out of her pretty face and watch those blue eyes stare into his. He thinks of her legs out of their normal red tights, long, thin and teasing. Ryuji grunts and tries to make his mind go a little further. He tries to imagine her without her clothes, he tries to imagine her breasts - god knows he’s stared at them enough - his thoughts get more and more vulgar but it’s not working.   
  
Ryuji’s wrist starts to ache and he groans to himself. His other hand is leaning heavily against the counter and he keeps his eyes closed, pausing his stroking for a moment to let his wrist relax for a bit.   
  
He’d never known jacking off to be so….tiring.   
  
Fuck. It’s not working. None of it is. Maybe it’s because he’s never actually seen Ann out of her clothes? Maybe it’s because whatever is going on between them is young still? But then why is his brain totally fine with giving him images of Yusuke on his hands and knees but not Ann?   
  
Somewhere out there, something is just torturing him.   
  
The worst part is that these are dreams. They’re not nightmares because he knows he enjoys them. He likes seeing Yusuke in his dreams, he knows he’s incredibly turned on by everything in his dreams. It’s just that when he wakes up, realises he’s hard, realises why lusting after Yusuke is confusing and just wrong, he gets confused and even scared.   
  
He thought he knew himself fairly well but this is just…   
  
Ryuji opens his eyes and looks down. He’s still hard. The remnants of his dream linger in his mind and just the thought is enough to make him twitch. He takes a deep breath and starts stroking again, this time he thinks about the dream. He’d dreamt of blue hair, of elegant, artistic hands that trailed up and down his body, leaving zings wherever the fingers touched his skin.   
  
He’d dreamt of a warm mouth kissing down his chest, down his flat stomach. A tongue flicking out every now and then. He’d dreamt of short hair between his fingers, of a low voice moaning his name.   
  
Ryuji concentrates and tries to change his dream. He imagines the ice cubes that had trailed down a lean, male body and tries to instead imagine those ice cubes melting between breasts. He imagines tendrils of blonde hair hanging over shoulders, of a sweet, feminine voice calling his name.   
  
Oh shit it’s not working.   
  
Ryuji tries harder. He clenches his eyes shut and imagines legs around his waist. He imagines long nails in his back, the feeling of warmth and a voice, any voice this time, calling his name. It doesn’t have to be Ann, it can be Makoto, Haru, literally any girl. He strokes harder and imagines warmth around his cock, his thoughts get more and more vulgar as he tries to go as far as imagining the fluids he’d feel from lips and sweat. A sweet voice calling his name, a girl sitting on top of him and moving her hips up and down, not even stopping for-   
  
“FUCK!” Ryuji yells in frustration. He’s not hard now at all, he’s gone soft and his wrist is aching.   
  
He gives up and pants as he sinks to sit on the floor instead. Ryuji wipes his hand on his pants and catches his breath. He’s frustrated too, he’d actually managed to turn himself off with the thought of having sex with a girl.   
  
A soft knock on the door. Ryuji looks up when he hears his mother’s concerned voice through the wood.   
  
“Ryuji? Are you alright?”   
  
Shit.   
  
“I’m fine mum,” he calls back and checks the time on his phone “Sorry if I woke you.”   
  
“Are you sure you’re ok? Do you want some tea?”   
  
Ryuji takes a deep breath. He doesn’t want tea, he wants a new brain and he feels quite guilty for waking his mother up because of his sexual frustration.   
  
“I’m fine ma,” he sighs and listens to the pitter-patter of her feet going back to her room.   
  
When he hears her door close again, Ryuji takes another breath and rests his head back against the wall. His hand shoots out blindly for his phone and he looks down to flick a quick message to Akira before putting the phone down.   
  
This isn’t working. He’s scared too, he’s not supposed to be feeling like this. Not towards Yusuke. The guy is his friend, his artistic and weird friend. He’s not supposed to feel this way and he can’t even pinpoint where it all started.   
  
Ryuji spends the next half hour on the cold floor, thinking about how fucked up all of this is before Akira finally answers him.   
  
**Akira:** ??   
  
**Ryuji:** Got some time? I need to run.   
  
**Akira:** Lunch hour?   
  
**Ryuji:** Works for me.   
  
**Akira:** K.   
  
Ryuji puts his phone down and takes another breath. Well at least there’s Akira. His lofty best friend whom he knows won’t judge him even if he ever does tell him he’s having nasty thoughts about a mutual friend of them both.   
  
No matter what, Ryuji has to sort his shit. Preferably before anything with Ann starts.   
  
* * *   
  
It’s nearly seven in the morning when Futaba finds herself staring at her closed bedroom door.   
  
She’s been here before. This feeling, it’s so familiar. Her bedroom is so comforting with all the things she knows, everything she owns. Her action figurines, her laptop, her space. Beyond that door is a world of hurt. A school where a third year attacked and tried to rape her.   
  
Just the thought of seeing him again, Hiro, and knowing he’s Jax….   
  
She sits on her bed and curls up when she hears Sojiro knocking on her door.   
  
“Futaba?” he calls and she can smell the curry from the kitchen “Breakfast. You’ll be late for school if you don’t get up.”   
  
Futaba knows she’s been here before. She knows this feeling because this is what kept her in her room last time. It’s just fear, she’s surpassed it before. When her mother died and those men tried to blame her, when she thought the world was better off without her, she’d been stuck in her room and she’d done it to herself.   
  
The comfort of her own space, where the only voice berating her was her own and even then she could silence it.   
  
She knows it’s just fear. But Futaba can’t bring herself to do it. She can’t bring herself to stepping one foot towards that door when she knows what’s waiting for her on the other side.   
  
Another knock. “Futaba?”   
  
“I’m not going today,” Futaba announces, immediately feeling a wave of relief as her brain follows her thoughts and realises she’s not leaving her room. Not today. “I don’t feel well.”   
  
“What’s wrong?” Sojiro asks and it speaks volumes that he doesn’t just open the door and check on her himself. It shows he knows her better than anyone else in the world. “A cold? Stomach bug?”   
  
“I’m just not well,” Futaba lies and curls up under her blankets “I’m just gonna...don’t come in, I don’t want you to get sick too.”   
  
A pause. Sojiro sounds more worried and Futaba feels guilty for worrying him but it still beats her fear of the outside world. “Futaba are you sure? I can make you some soup…”   
  
“I’m ok. Really,” she insists “Don’t worry about me. I’m just gonna sleep it off.”   
  
“Ok...you can call me if you need me.”   
  
Futaba smiles and curls up a little more under the blankets. This is familiar. This is safe. Plus, a voice argues in her head, Jax is an online rival. Going after him in real life was just dumb, she was never going to win against the beefcake that is Hiro.   
  
She can fight him and she can win. She doesn’t need to step outside to do that.   
  
She shoots a message to the group, telling them she’s out of school for the day and curls up under the blankets. Just one day. It should be fine. It’s not like she’s running away or anything, it’s just that she needs the day to recover.   
  
Because just the thought of Hiro and his breath on her skin, his hands touching what they had no permission to touch makes her shiver with fear and dread. He could have had her too, he’s too strong, he’s too big and she’s no match for him in physical strength.   
  
She hadn’t even been able to tell Sojiro about it either. After she’d stopped crying last night, she’d just made up some story about a bad day and he’d swallowed it whole. She couldn’t tell him. He’d either make a huge deal about it and get in the way of the Phantom Thieves….because Hiro is Jax….or he’d take her out of school immediately and she didn’t want that either.   
  
For now at least, Sojiro was safer not knowing what happened to her.   
  
She hears her phone buzz and closes her eyes. Not today. Just give her one day to recover. The world won’t seem so terrifying tomorrow.   
  
But she’s had this feeling before and she knows it’s a lie.   
  
* * *   
  
“Akira!” Morgana snaps when Akira comes in through the bedroom door “Where the hell were you?”   
  
It takes Akira one moment to remember the fact that the living, breathing, human boy standing in front of him was in fact a cat that used to tell him to go to bed at a reasonable time all of last year. He sighs, closes the door behind him.   
  
“I was just out,” he explains and waves the subject off with his hand. He’s not about to tell Morgana the truth, that he’d been out having sex with Akechi Goro last night. Something tells him that conversation would go very awkward, very fast. “Anyway, we need to figure out what to do with you. You obviously can’t come to school.”   
  
Morgana looks pensive as he sits back down on the end of the bed “I wouldn’t fit in your bag anymore huh?” he hums and looks around “Well...maybe this is my time to shine. While you’re in school, I can do some snooping around. I’m good on my own.”   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow at him. That may have been true - kind of - when Morgana was a cat but now he’s a human and Akira feels uneasy leaving him alone. He checks the time on his phone and sits down on the floor.   
  
“Morgana,” he starts “Do you really not remember anything? Nothing about being taken away? Who took you away?”   
  
Morgana shakes his head “I’ve tried,” he confesses “I’ve racked my brain over and over about it but I can’t remember a thing. The last thing I remember is hissing at the shadow that was looming over me and Ishida...then…” he shrugs and rubs his hair back from his head “I can’t remember.”   
  
Akira frowns. There has to be a reason they turned Morgana into a human. It doesn’t make much sense though. Morgana was ten times more useful as a cat because he could get in and out of places they couldn’t. He could talk and they were the only ones who could understand him. He could even fit in Akira’s bag. Now that he’s human, he’s lost all those advantages and is just like the rest of them.   
  
So if it’s an advantage to have Morgana as a human, Akira has yet to figure out how. Stranger yet is that Shiho was taken by a shadow and she remembers everything but Morgana remembers nothing.   
  
He doesn’t get it, any of it but he feels something bubbling under the surface and it’s frustrating to think that Loki - who is threatening them - and the shadows that are supposed to come after him at any time now, might be two entirely different enemies who are just attacking at the same time.   
  
It does Akira’s head in just to think about it, let alone hear Akechi thinking about it all the time too.   
  
“Akechi is a host in training now, that’s our in,” Morgana says “But we need the others. We’re only half a team, if that. But I guess...with Lady Ann, Yusuke, Makoto and Haru in Tokyo, we don’t really have a choice do we?”   
  
Akira shakes his head, the best chance they have is if the others can get here in the weekend and even then Ann can’t leave Tokyo until the police are sure she had nothing to do with Rise’s disappearance. They have nothing on her but she has no evidence she’s innocent either and it all rests on a decision being made at some point.   
  
Morgana sighs wistfully “I’m finally human and Lady Ann is…”   
  
He doesn’t finish the sentence but then he doesn’t need to. Akira rubs his head and decides to get up for a shower. Whatever they do, they have to make their move and figure something out because they’re running out of time and if their enemies really have nothing to do with each other, then they need to figure out some sort of plan.   
  
* * *   
  
“Go through it again.”   
  
Sitting in a small interview room, Ann stares at the steel table in front of her. With her hands folded on her lap, her fingers fiddle and press at the ring on her right hand. She’s been here for two hours. Running through the same story and the more she does, the less believable it seems, even to her.   
  
It’s the truth. The night she was staying with Kujikawa Rise, they’d both fallen asleep and she’d woken up when she felt Rise go into the bathroom. She’d spent a few moments messaging Yusuke and then she’d heard - or rather felt - something go terribly wrong.   
  
She’s told this story countless times and the more she tells it, the less she believes it herself.   
  
“I was staying the night at Rise’s place,” Ann explains again. Her eyes are trained on the table but she can hear the policeman pacing in front of the table. He’s the third one she’s told this story to. The first one sat down and took notes, the other one just sat and this one paces. It’s unnerving.   
  
“This would be Kujikawa Rise?” the man asks. He knows it is but Ann is more than used to overclarification when it comes to authority figures.   
  
“Yes,” she answers and she can see Rise’s smile in her mind. It hurts, she misses her.   
  
“Continue,” the man prods “You were staying the night at her place. Why was that?”   
  
“Because we’re friends,” Ann replies. She thinks about it and winces “Were...friends…”   
  
The policeman is looking at her now but she can’t return the gaze. She’s staring at the table, thinking it over and over again in her mind. Some parts of the night are blurry but there are points she remembers clearly.   
  
“It was cold. I remember waking up-”   
  
“What time?” the policeman interrupts her and Ann knows they have her phone records. They know she was messaging Yusuke and they know what time.   
  
“Sometime after three,” she answers.   
  
“Specifically?” the policeman presses and she shakes her head.   
  
“3:20?” she guesses “You guys have my phone records.”   
  
The policeman eyes her for a moment and continues “What happened then? Describe the situation.”   
  
Ann shivers. She hates it. She hates going through it. She takes a deep breath and tries not to fidget with her hair.   
  
“It was cold,” she tells him “I remember that. I could see my breath. I called for Rise but she didn’t answer….I could hear her breathing….”   
  
She can see it so clearly in her mind. It’s burnt in memory, not just how she’d heard Rise’s breathing, how she’d felt the chill in the air. She’d felt fear chill her to the bone, not just for Rise but also for herself. The realisation that something truly horrifying and dangerous had been on the other side of the door and as much as her flight instinct kicked in, so too did the fight one. The one that wanted to save Rise but was helpless to do anything.   
  
“She said ‘senpai’,” Ann recalls and she’ll never forget the tone of Rise’s voice. Barely a whisper but there had been a mix of relief with the terror.   
  
Then she was gone.   
  
Ann feels a tear slip down her cheek and reaches up to flick it off. She swallows the lump in her throat and looks at the detective, who is eyeing her thoughtfully.   
  
If he’s looking for a hole in her story, he’s not likely to find one. She’s told the same story over and over so many times that even if it was a lie, she’s memorised it completely.   
  
“This ‘senpai’ she mentions…” the detective goes back to his notes “Does that mean that someone else was in the bathroom with her?”   
  
“I don’t know,” Ann flicks another tear from her face and wills them to stop coming. As long as they still think she’s guilty, they’re not going to be very sympathetic for her and she knows it sounds odd. Two girls alone at night and one disappears. There’s no sign of forced entry, no sign of a third person and not even a possibility someone could have climbed in through a window because Rise’s apartment was so high up. Running through every illogical possibility doesn’t produce results and the only right conclusion is that it was somehow Ann but Ann knows she’s innocent.   
  
“You said it was cold,” the detective continues “Did she leave the window open? Or the aircon?”   
  
“I don’t know,” Ann says again and she knows it’s not going to help her case but the truth would only make it worse.   
  
She wants Akira. She wants Ryuji. She wants someone to be here with her because all she feels is crushing loneliness and fear going through this alone.   
  
The detective leans over the table and studies her carefully.   
  
“Ann,” he says “What do you think happened? How did Rise disappear in her own bathroom?”   
  
“I don’t know,” Ann’s voice cracks and she looks him in the eyes “I don’t know.”   
  
“You know why we suspect you. You were the only person in the room-”   
  
“How could I have made her disappear?” Ann argues and she wishes her voice wasn’t as tight as it is. She’s on the verge of tears but she’s also frustrated. She’s told the same story over and over again.   
  
The detective just shrugs “You tell me.”   
  
Ann stares and she feels a sense of hopelessness taking over her. They don’t believe her, they wouldn’t believe her if she told the truth and they won’t believe her censored story where she leaves out the Metaverse.   
  
He lets her go after a few more questions and when Ann steps out of the police station, she forces the conversation to the back of her head and takes a deep breath.   
  
She has no proof she’s innocent but they have no proof she’s guilty. In the midst of it all, she misses Rise. It had been nice to have a friend close by. With Makoto and Haru in university, she only has Yusuke nearby and talking to him is a little like talking to a wall sometimes.   
  
She rubs the last of the forming tears from her eyes and looks up at the sky. With the accusations over her head, she’s even lost modelling jobs.   
  
She takes another breath and heads off towards school. She missed the morning classes but she’ll be in for the afternoon. People will stare but they always do, it’s just gotten worse since Rise.   
  
Ann feels so alone, it’s the first time in awhile that she wishes her parents were with her.   
  
* * *   
  
Akechi, Ishida and Shiho hang around near the vending machine area. They watch as Ryuji takes off, running around the grounds with Akira close behind him.   
  
“So…” Ishida tilts his head curiously “What’s this about?”   
  
“Sakamoto and his monthly bleeding,” Akechi mutters darkly and fishes out some coins to get himself a drink from the vending machine. He’s not actually annoyed about Ryuji, but he is tired and doesn’t function very well without at least one coffee in his system. Not to mention the thought of going to the host bar tonight to learn the ropes is annoying him as well.   
  
He hates that he understands the logic behind it.   
  
_Why doesn’t it surprise me that having sex all night makes you cranky?_ Akira’s voice chides in his head and Akechi nearly drops the drink he’s carrying.   
  
_Shut up and run,_ he snaps back at the other and he can hear Akira’s laugh across the field.   
  
Ok, that makes him smile.   
  
“So what’s the plan?’ Shiho asks as she perches herself down on the bench near one of the tables “Tonight we’re planning to go in?”   
  
Akechi nods, he sits down at the table and twists open the coffee he’d bought. He downs at least two gulps before he even considers explaining the details.   
  
“The plan is, you go in, scope out the inside of the castle and try to get some idea of where the treasure is,” he says when he resurfaces “Ishida, you’ve only done this once and Suzui, you’ve never done this so both of you will be relying on Kurusu. Whatever he says, you do, he’s the leader.”   
  
They both nod and Ishida still looks like he has something on his mind “So...we can’t get in the castle unless there is a way in...which is why you’re the host?”   
  
“The world is cognitive, we need a way to get in in real life in order to open the door in her mind,” Akechi explains and he looks at them both. It’s not like Ishida and Shiho are dumb but he wonders how much it’s worth explaining the concept of cognitive and distorted desires when he himself is running on fuck all sleep and a short patience span to begin with.   
  
It’s probably not a good idea.   
  
“The general point is, you both stay very close to Kurusu and do what he says. If he tells you to hang back, you hang back and if he tells you to run, you run,” he finishes “I’ll be working in the bar so I’ll see what the situation is with Ran and how deep he’s in this mess. It may help our cause.”   
  
* * *   
  
With paintbrush in hand, Yusuke’s mind goes somewhere dark. Each slash of paint and stroke of the brush comes from somewhere else and it was almost like a cathartic release.   
  
His classmates have already learnt by now, they have to leave him alone when he gets like this and Yusuke has learnt some humility thanks to last year, he wouldn’t go so far as to call himself a genius but he knew he was talented enough. Born from talent, born into talent, each stroke, each messy slash and dot of paint on his face came from somewhere deep and Yusuke was afraid to say where that was.   
  
It’s him again. Yusuke can see him again and it’s obviously a sign of absolute madness that all he wants is to hear Sakamoto Ryuji saying something unclassy. He wanted to see his face, to see that spike of rebellious blonde hair, to hear the other click his tongue in annoyance. He didn’t know what he’d done or who he’d pissed off to have such strong feelings for the guy but where it usually made Yusuke melancholy, now it pissed him off and he’d reserved the art room for four hours specifically to lash out like this.   
  
It wasn’t fair. Last year he’d been so sure of himself. He was an artist and he’d recovered from Madarame’s abuses spectacularly. He’d turned into an artist in his own right, one who knew his mind and bowed down to no one elses agenda. He had made a group of close friends, he’d turned into a completely different person than the silent voice in Madarame’s shack.   
  
Now though….now he wasn’t sure. He was having feelings for a friend and he was confused about all of it and if this was the shit that normal teenagers had to deal with, then he was ready to go to prison and thank Madarame for sheltering him from it until just now.   
  
When he finally finishes, he’s panting and out of breath. His shirt is blotched with paint dots and the newspapers he’d laid down on the floor are covered in his careless stains. He steps back and looks at his art. A raw, angry, terrifying mess of hormones and emotion. A clash of the dark skies, dotted with angry red veins streaking across the heavens. A shadow of forest and earth and standing alone, the shadow of a boy he knew all too well and longed to see.   
  
But he can’t see him. No one can. The shadows cover him and he stands alone, walking towards what promises to be hell in the horizon.   
  
Yusuke wonders if he painted Ryuji’s death.   
  
He takes a deep breath and looks up when he hears the door to the art room open. He turns around, ready to snap the head off whoever was stupid enough to interrupt his artistic expression and stops when he sees the long blonde hair and red tights belonging to none other than Takamaki Ann herself.   
  
She smiles at him and slides the door closed behind herself.   
  
“There you are,” she says as she comes towards him “Your teacher told me where to find you. He seemed concerned.”   
  
Of course he did. When Yusuke booked the art room for his private use for two hours, it was a cause for concern. Booking it for four hours meant something was seriously wrong with him.   
  
Yusuke says nothing and watches as she approaches him, her eyes finally falling on his latest piece. He watches her take it in and tilts his head. Ann, right from the moment he saw her, has always been a similar soul to his own. She’s kind, she’s beautiful and she’s also got a broader perspective on the world than most people give her credit for.   
  
He imagines Ryuji and probably even Akira can look at this piece and not feel the same emotions that Ann can detect from it and that’s what makes her different. Yusuke knows when someone can appreciate art and Ann has it in spades.   
  
She looks up and when she looks at him, he knows she got it. Maybe not specifically Ryuji, but she knows he’s not alright.   
  
“Yusuke,” she says “Do you want to come out with me somewhere?”   
  
To talk. He knows that’s what she wants him to. To open up to a friend, to vent and if it were about anything else, he’d have opened up to Ann but the problem is that this is about Ryuji. He can’t talk about his emotional problems about Ryuji to Ann when he knows they’re on the verge of...something.   
  
Something that hurts him to think about.   
  
Yet at the same time he can’t blame them at all. If he were more into recognising his own emotions and hormones...and if he were apparently straight...he’d have gone after Ann too. She’s beautiful, she’s kind, she’s smart too and she doesn’t lie down and meekly accept something even if it’s wrong. A fighter...just like Ryuji.   
  
He looks down and fights the urge to blame the world for what’s happening to him. He wants something to blame and it’s frustrating that there’s nothing. It’s just what it is, this is happening, he’s feeling something for a guy who is not going to return it and they’re his friends. He doesn’t want to resent them at all for this.   
  
“Hey,” Ann’s voice softens and she places her hand on his shoulder. She peers up at him, trying to catch his gaze “Yusuke. Talk to me.”   
  
He can’t. Not to her. She’s his friend and he truly treasures her. In order to avoid hurting her or making her feel at all uncomfortable, he can’t tell her about this.   
  
He wishes Akira were here.   
  
“Don’t worry about me,” he tells her and tries to smile “But I could use some air. Shall we go for a walk?”   
  
Actually what he wants to do is lock himself in his room and brood but no one is going to let him do that today. Ann smiles at him and steps back.   
  
“You should probably get changed first,” she suggests, gesturing to his paint-splattered clothes “I’ll meet you outside.”   
  
She heads outside and Yusuke watches after her. When she’s gone, he turns his eyes back to his painting.   
  
Sakamoto Ryuji. When he first met him he thought he was just a thug, even when he joined the team, he still thought he was a thug. How wrong he’d been. The more he got to know Ryuji, the more he realised there was a lot more to him. His hidden kindness, his surprising thoughtfulness. The raging heat that boiled in Ryuji’s blood and in his heart was what made him so magnetic. A powerful force.   
  
But he’s not Yusuke’s and Yusuke knows that if he wants any sanity at all, he has to let this go. Let him go. Step back, watch this happen and pray the pain will end.   
  
Until that day comes, he has his art and in pain lies true beauty and passion. Madarame told him that once and despite everything, it was advice he’d never forgotten. For what are humans without their emotion, their pain and their sadness? It’s strange to think that Yusuke could miss Madarame but he does, he wants someone to talk to, someone who would understand him and tell him he’s not crazy for this. Give him some outlet, some encouraging words.   
  
He pulls at his clothes and grabs his normal clothes from where they’re sitting on his bag. Yusuke takes a deep breath and glances at his artwork one more time.   
  
Then he takes a sheet, covers it up and heads out the door. He doesn’t care if the sheet will smear the paint, he can’t let that artwork out into the world. It’s too raw, too revealing and as much as he loves to show his feeling to the world, that hits way too close to home and he needs closure more than ever.   
  
* * *   
  
“Is Futaba okay?” Ishida asks as they gather near the host bar later that night. It’s nearly opening time and Akechi disappeared an hour ago to buy clothes because ‘making a good first impression is important’.   
  
“She called this morning,” Akira tells them as he leans against the building “Said she’s sick, I pressed a little but turns out it’s a stomach bug.”   
  
Shiho winces “Poor thing.”   
  
Ryuji eyes the host bar and stretches his arms out “So, the plan basically is we watch Akechi go in, then we go into the palace and he should be our in?”   
  
“Essentially,” Morgana supplies where he’s sitting against the railing near the street. It’s still a little weird for the others to see him as human but it’s even weirder for Morgana to act like one. The urge to lick himself clean this morning was intense.   
  
“In Rina’s mind, this place is her palace. Her sanctuary, the moat around it and the bridge suggests that she thinks no unauthorised people can enter,” Morgana explains “If Akechi is able to make her lower her bridge, we’ll get in.”   
  
Ryuji snorts and Ishida looks a little disturbed.   
  
“By ‘lower her bridge’,” Ryuji presses with the most amused smirk on his face “You mean…?”   
  
“Eww,” Shiho mutters and Morgana looks confused.   
  
“I mean the bridge,” he says, not getting where everyone else’s mind went. He looks at their faces and frowns “...what?”   
  
“Nothing,” Akira shakes his hand and subtly kicks Ryuji in the leg. Ryuji just laughs it off.   
  
Akechi appears then. He’s had his hair done, one side clipped back behind his ear. He’s wearing a silk black shirt with a red tie and skinny black jeans underneath with shiny black shoes. Akira spots a couple of silver bracelets on both wrists and a new golden earring on his exposed ear.   
  
He looks hot. He looks like a host.   
  
Ryuji takes one look at him and bursts out laughing. Ishida covers his mouth and Morgana does a double take.   
  
“W-well…” Morgana stammers, eyeing up Akechi’s entire look “You….you look the part.”   
  
“That’s the point,” Akechi deals with his cuffs and flicks at his hair “I’m selling myself aren’t I?”   
  
_I’d buy you,_ Akira can’t help but comment in his head. Akechi smirks but doesn’t reply.   
  
“Now remember, try to go after Rina,” Morgana tells him “She’s the target. If she lowers her guard around you, her bridge will open for us.”   
  
Akechi stops fiddling with his sleeve, he thinks over that line again and his mind goes where everyone else’s mind went. The thought of sleeping with her, getting her to open her legs, pops into his mind and Akira rolls his eyes.   
  
“Right,” he finally mutters and goes back to messing around with his clothes a little more, “That could be a little difficult, with Ran being her favourite.”   
  
“Don’t worry about Ran,” Morgana says with a proud, boasting smile “I took care of him.”   
  
That makes Akechi stop. It makes the others stop as well and Akechi looks at him “What did you do to him?”   
  
“Well while you were all busy in school, I took it upon myself to do a little snooping,” Morgana tells them proudly “Ran won’t be able to work today. Not if he drinks the water in his backpack.”   
  
Ishida pales “Oh my god, you spiked his water?!”   
  
“It’s for his own good,” Morgana shrugs “Surely working at that place can’t be that fun for him anyway. He gets a night off and we get to infiltrate the palace.”   
  
Ryuji snorts “Yeah,” he mutters “Ran’s gonna have a real good night off shitting his ring out.”   
  
“Anyway,” Morgana shrugs “I laid out the groundwork. The rest is up to you, Akechi. We’re counting on you.”   
  
Akechi glances at the host bar one more time and sighs “Fine,” he says “I’ve got this. You guys get going.”   
  
“Just get her to open her bridge,” Ryuji teases him “Nice and slow, you get me?”   
  
“You’re disgusting,” Shiho groans.   
  
Ishida just laughs and as Akechi walks to the bar, Akira eyes his back closely.   
  
_Be careful,_ he warns Akechi, _Don’t let her find out who you are._  
  
 _You too,_ Akechi replies, his back still walking away.   
  
Ryuji nudges Akira, pulling him out of his thoughts and Akira brings his phone up. He pulls the app out and watches as the world around them twists and warps, pulling them all into the world of Rina’s twisted mind.   
  
* * *   
  
The inside of the host bar has dim lighting and there’s a distant scent of alcohol and smoke in the air. Akechi looks around as he’s ushered inside to where the other hosts are setting up. The guy in charge of all of them, Kondo, pats Akechi’s shoulder “This here is Hayato, he’ll be replacing Ran-chan for the night.”   
  
One of the hosts looks up, a little concerned “What happened to Ran?”   
  
“Fell ill,” Kondo shrugs “Anyway, show the newbie around, make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. Did Ran have any clients tonight?”   
  
“The regular,” another boy points out “The one who-”   
  
“Ah yes,” Kondo nods “Rina. She may be a little difficult to convince but…” he looks over Akechi and hums “You might just fit the part.”   
  
Akechi keeps emotion off his face. This was the aim anyway, to get closer to Rina, to lower her guard for the others. He nods and watches as the other boys head off to work and get ready for their clients. Kondo turns to him.   
  
“Now, do you know how to pour champagne? How to mix a drink? How to make people feel at ease?” he asks skeptically “Being a host is no picnic. You’ve gotta be on all the time, make the customer feel at ease - like she can talk to you and make sure she always has a drink nearby. The more fun she’s having, the more likely it is that she’ll want another drink. Any awkward silences, differences of opinion, anything like that will make her feel uncomfortable and she’ll leave.”   
  
“I know how to talk to people,” Akechi tells Kondo calmly “Leave it to me.”   
  
This is the one part he does have infinite confidence in. He wanted people to need him, love him, want him and in order to get to where he had to go, he needed to learn how to talk to people. How to turn on the charm to the max. This is something Akechi already has in spades.   
  
Kondo sniffs and proceeds to teach him how to effortlessly pour drinks, how to engage in conversation and how to greet clients at the door.   
  
“It’s annoying that Ran-chan got sick,” he grumbles as he shoots Akechi a foul look - as if it was his fault - “Ran-chan is the only one of our hosts with a constant client. She comes every single day and she’s our most valuable customer because she pays so much. But only if it’s him. He’s never gotten sick before.”   
  
He huffs “It’s not so bad when any of the other boys get sick, they can be replaced but Ran….”   
  
“I’ll do my best,” Akechi promises and looks up when the doors open and the evening clients start coming in.   
  
The clients are mostly high class, wealthy but lonely women. Akechi eyes them all one by one, dressed to the ninth, jewels and sparkling dresses or kimono, smelling of roses as they either go for their regular boys or they pick one from the number menu. Akechi isn’t on the menu, he’s been set aside specifically for Rina.   
  
“Listen,” Kondo tells him “There’s no telling this will work. It’s up to Rina. If she rejects you for the night, we’ll put you in with the other clients and see if anyone picks you. But we’re short on options here. Do your best to charm her, we don’t want to lose her as our client.”   
  
Akechi senses some rotten sense that getting her money is more important than simply telling her that her favourite is sick for the night and when the doors open again, he looks over to see Rina herself. Kondo slips away from Akechi to explain to Rina what happened to Ran and Akechi takes a deep breath.   
  
Admittedly, he is a little out of the game. He can charm anyone but ever since he ‘died’ and came back, his priorities had shifted a little. It hadn’t required a hell of a lot of charm to get Akira to like him and Akechi actually liked the break.   
  
Rina is brought to him and he bows “Rina-chan,” he greets and smiles at her, turning his charm up full blast as he takes her hand like a princess “My name is Hayato. I hope you’ll consider me a substitute for the night. I may be poor compared to Ran-chan but I will do my best to keep you company for the night.”   
  
Rina looks a little sceptical but she’s already done up. Her hair, her makeup, her outfit, Akechi meets her eyes and holds her hands warm in his own. When he was famous, girls used to go on and on about his face. His hair, his winning smile. He thought it would make him happy, to know there were people who wanted him but when he found out why they wanted him, it didn’t make him as happy as he thought it would.   
  
Rina is looking at him the same way those girls looked at him. They don’t know the real him, they’ll never know the real him but his looks play a part in their fantasy and they fill his personality up themselves. They make a dream in their head and try to make him play the part.   
  
At least this time he’s actually getting directly paid to play this part.   
  
He leads her to the booth and pours her a drink. He then slides in next to her and despite Kondo’s nervous face, Akechi engages right away. He asks her about her work, about the things she likes, he gets her to talk about everything he knows is safe for her to talk about and eventually he even gets her to laugh.   
  
When Rina leans in a little, Akechi pours her more champagne and lets her touch his arm. He hopes like hell this worked.   
  
* * *   
  
Akira eyes the drawbridge thoughtfully and flicks his black coat back. The Phantom Thief outfit is stifling in the heat and he wishes he were the kind of thief who wore less. He pulls at his shirt and glances around at the others and they’re no better.   
  
“Why is it so fucking humid?” Ryuji complains as he leans against the wall “It’s like the last time.”   
  
“Don’t remind me,” Morgana whines and pulls at his cat costume to let some air flow through to his skin “That Minagawa guy was twisted but the humidity was caused by his lust. This…” he pauses to think about it “...this won’t be much different. Rina is led by her lust as well which explains the humidity.”   
  
“Can we please go after someone who’s not thinking with their crotch?” Ishida fans himself desperately and looks at Shiho, who is doing the same.   
  
“Good luck with that,” Ryuji grumbles “Adults are fucking scum man, no wonder we had to come back and kick ass.”   
  
He tactfully avoids mentioning the fact that his wet dreams have been driven by nothing but his own crotch. Just the thought of it makes him more uncomfortable.   
  
Akira looks up when the bridge makes a groan. Slowly it lowers towards them, bridging the gap between them and the entrance as it opens and falls slowly with a thud at Akira’s feet.   
  
“Awesome!” Ryuji cheers and nudges Akira’s arm “Looks like he got her guard down. Let’s go.”   
  
The group walk inside and Akira - at first - kind of expects to see a castle very similar to the one he’d seen with Kamoshida. After all it makes sense, a castle should have a grand entranceway, it should look like an actual castle where Rina - as the princess - would expect to live.   
  
Instead when they walk in, the first thing they see is a grand room made of gold. Golden walls, golden doors, polished golden floors, it hurts the eyes to look at it but what draws Akira’s attention first is the table in the middle of the room with five glasses.   
  
One for each of them.   
  
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Shiho mutters as Ishida goes to open one of the doors - only to find he can’t.   
  
“I think…” Morgana takes one of the glasses and looks around “I think this is how this works...I think.”   
  
Ryuji levels him with an unimpressed look “You’re being vague again, man.”   
  
“Well I don’t know how this works...exactly. I haven’t been human that long,” Morgana points out “But from what I understand - what little I understand - hosts are supposed to be all about a night out right? Conversation, drinking…” he wiggles the glass in his hand.   
  
Akira walks over to test one of the doors but it doesn’t open. They’re all shut tight and he looks back at the drinks.   
  
“The first thing a host will do is pour you a drink,” he surmises as he goes back to the table and picks up a glass “So the doors…”   
  
“Won’t open until the drinks are gone,” Shiho finishes with a wince.   
  
Ryuji’s eyes almost bulge out of their sockets “Dude, what if they’re poisoned?”   
  
“Host’s don’t poison their drinks,” Ishida shrugs “At the very least, it’s alcohol.”   
  
The group gather around the table, they pick up one glass each and glance at each other, almost nervously.   
  
“Okay,” Ryuji finally decides as he clinks his glass with Akira’s “Cheers.”   
  
Akira nods and together, the group down their shots in one go. The taste is so sickly sweet it almost makes Akira gag. It’s fizzy and bubbly, shooting up his senses and making him close his eyes as the drink shoots past all his tastebuds and slips down his throat, leaving a slight burn in its wake.   
  
“UGH!” Ryuji coughs and slams the glass down as he thumps his chest “Fuck me that was shit!”   
  
Morgana looks ill, Ishida is leaning over the table. The only person who looks even mildly okay is Shiho, who places the glass down and hums thoughtfully.   
  
A loud click echoes in the golden room as the doors open on their own. Akira looks around and swallows down the last of the taste.   
  
“Okay,” Morgana burps “The doors are open. Now we’ve just gotta figure out which way to go. We don’t exactly have a map…”   
  
“And Futaba is out of action today,” Shiho adds, a little concerned.   
  
“For now, we’re probably best getting a feel for the place and how to deal with it,” Morgana decides, as if reading Akira’s mind “We handled palaces before Futaba and we can do it again. It’ll just take longer.”   
  
“So long as I don’t have to take that shit again, I’m good,” Ryuji glares at the glasses and looks around the room. He points to the door farthest from the entrance “Let’s go through that one.”   
  
Akira pulls at his shirt again, willing air to pass through as he takes the lead with Ryuji and Ishida by his side. Morgana hangs back with Shiho as the group cautiously walk through the doors and into the long hallway.   
  
Unlike the golden room, the rest of the castle is like what Akira expects. It’s even eerily close to Kamoshida’s palace, complete with the guards in full uniform. The only difference is that the portraits on the walls are all of boys their age - with numbers on their shirts.   
  
“Boys for sale,” Ryuji grumbles “Isn’t that kind of fucked up?”   
  
“Host bars aren’t exactly illegal,” Shiho points out “It’s different this time because the guys who work there - we presume - are fully capable of consenting to doing so. Most hosts don’t even sleep with their clients I think, they just keep them company and talk to them for the night.”   
  
“Rina’s a special case though,” Ishida winces “She’s been holding onto Ran for so long, I doubt she’s satisfied with just talking to him.”   
  
Akira listens out for noise. They walk ahead a few paces when he stops as his vision starts to blur. He grabs the wall and distantly hears Ryuji swear.   
  
“Anyone else feeling a little…?” Ryuji grabs the wall as well and holds his head with his other hand “...shit.”   
  
Akira closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and tries to stabilise himself but something is making him weak, making his knees almost buckle underneath him. It was the drink, he knows it was the drink but he doesn’t know what it’s doing to him.   
  
He opens his eyes and when he does, the elegant maroon walls are pink. The floor is pink, the air is light and there’s a light coming from above but he can’t tell where. Akira looks around at the others and feels a familiar tightening in his chest as he scratches along the wall and pushes himself back upright on his feet.   
  
“Everything’s pink…” Ishida blinks and looks around himself “Why is everything pink?!”   
  
“What the fuck?” Ryuji grabs the wall and breathes hard “The….hell is going on here?”   
  
“Rose-tinted glasses,” Morgana explains, sounding like he’s struggling too “They must spike their drinks at the host bar to make their customers more receptive to them.”   
  
“Fantastic,” Ryuji groans “Now what? We can’t press on when everything is all pink and lovehearts.”   
  
“Give me a minute here,” Morgana whines and leans against the wall “I don’t feel well.”   
  
“We need to find a saferoom,” Akira tells them “Try and avoid the guards and find one to hide in whilst we figure out what this is.”   
  
His body feels strange. His arms and legs feel light like the air and there’s a coil in his stomach he recognises only too well because it appears whenever Akechi is nearby. At the thought of him, Akira feels a rush of heat through his chest, swirling down to his crotch and he’s suddenly very thankful for his Phantom Thief coat.   
  
He looks down and freezes as he fully understands what the drink was. It was an aphrodisiac. They spiked the drinks not to make their customers more receptive, but to make them horny.   
  
Oh.   
  
His mind is fuzzy. It’s torn between trying to concentrate on what he’s doing here and not think back to last night but all he can hear in his ears is the sound of Akechi’s moaning and it’s extremely distracting. He presses forward and he can distantly hear the others behind him.   
  
“Guys,” he calls “I know this might actually not help your cause but whatever you do, try to think of something cold. Think of old people, germs, whatever you can get into your head.”   
  
“SHIT MAN,” Ryuji groans and hunches over “Telling a guy not to think about something is basically like telling him to think about it!”   
  
Shiho’s cheeks are pink and Akira can’t tell if it’s because of the heat or because her mind went exactly where the aphrodisiac wanted it to go. Ishida has gone quiet and Morgana just looks disturbed. They’re a mess, they can’t fight like this.   
  
Though for an amusing two seconds Akira does wonder what it would be like trying to fight shadows when he’s horny as hell and trying to hide an erection with varied amounts of success.   
  
He closes his eyes and when he feels a weakness in the fabric of reality, he points to his left “That way.”   
  
Ryuji looks miserable, he’s hunched over and walking funny. The others follow Akira as he leads them quietly down the hallways, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible before they finally reach the safe room, pull the door open and all but fall inside.   
  
“What is that drink?!” Ryuji demands as he goes to the table, sits down and puts his hands over his lap. His face is pink, his ears are pink and he looks at Akira “Seriously, what did they put in there?”   
  
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ishida answers before Akira can. He’s using his clothes, trying to hide himself as much as he can “It’s an aphrodisiac. That’s how they’ve been bringing clients in, they make these women want them more than usual…” he pauses and thinks about it “That’s genius.”   
  
“I was fine until you told me not to think about it,” Ryuji grumbles and glares at Akira “Seriously.”   
  
“I didn’t tell you not to think about it, I told you to think about something cold,” Akira corrects him and he’s very thankful for his phantom coat hiding most of what’s bothering him.   
  
“Nevermind,” Shiho fans herself “The point is, we’re in no fit shape to fight. Unless you all plan on facing shadows when you’re feeling like this.”   
  
Morgana still looks fairly disturbed and Akira realises the poor boy hasn’t been human for a very long time. Not even really a full two days and already he’s dealing with something all guys deal with. He tilts his head and realises that cats do it too but when it happens to them, they just find something to do it with.   
  
That’s not quite an easy option for humans.   
  
“Morgana,” he calls and the boy looks up “Are you alright?”   
  
“I was thinking of…” Morgana stops and his cheeks go bright pink. He clears his throat “Nevermind.”   
  
They’re quiet for a moment, all of them trying to figure out a way out of this situation when Ryuji lifts his head.   
  
“Just...an idea…” he looks around “But like...when we’re feeling like this, isn’t it natural to….”   
  
Shiho glares at him “You’re not seriously suggesting what I think you’re suggesting,” she groans “That’s...in a place like this?! Really?!”   
  
“Well it’s fine for girls to hide it but we guys have a physical problem here!” Ryuji exclaims and points down at his crotch. Shiho grimaces and looks away.   
  
Ishida shakes his head “I see the logic in your solution but I’d much rather think about warts and toads and absolutely everything that can fix the problem.”   
  
Akira considers it. Ryuji has a point, it would help solve the problem. But the bigger problem is that they’re in the middle of a palace that is probably armed and dangerous. Being caught with their pants down - literally - is not a good idea.   
  
“I really hope we don’t have to drink those drinks every time we come into this palace,” Shiho fans herself again and straightens herself up “We’ll need to think of a way to get through this. Thank god the others aren’t with us, we could have had a bigger problem on our hands.”   
  
Akira considers the danger of having Akechi near him when he’s feeling like this and wonders if he’d be able to resist. Probably but he can’t speak for Akechi.   
  
At the same time Ryuji is thinking about Yusuke and Ann. What a tricky situation it would be if they were both here and feeling like this.   
  
“Well, we need a solution,” Morgana decides “We can’t hide in here, we have things to do and it’s not just Rina we have to worry about, we’re still being chased by this Loki guy.”   
  
“He’s the one who told us to go after Rina,” Shiho reminds him “Which means he knows who we are and he knows what we are. One can presume that means he can tell when we’re doing our job.”   
  
“Still, we don’t want to take too long,” Morgana replies and turns to Akira “Leader, ideas?”   
  
Akira closes his eyes tightly and takes a breath. He has better control over himself at the best and worst of times so to be thrown off by an aphrodisiac is a little surprising, still he forces himself to find a solution - or at least something he can live with. If they have to drink that aphrodisiac every single time they enter this place, it’s going to be impossible to get to the treasure.   
  
He gives himself a couple of seconds and forces himself to think of everything but Akechi. He can feel the drug trying to make him give up and think about the other boy and its only through sheer willpower that he achieves some peace of mind.   
  
Opening his eyes again, he looks at the others. It’s Ryuji who’s visibly struggling the most. Ishida’s technique of thinking of everything cold seems to be working, Shiho is still blushing but she’s otherwise alright. Morgana still looks kind of disturbed but he’s also painfully unaware that the problem in his pants is not something other people want to see.   
  
“Mona,” he says “Sit down at the table.”   
  
“Please,” Shiho mutters from behind her hand.   
  
Morgana looks a little confused but he obeys and sits down next to Ryuji. Ryuji looks rather miserable and Akira glances at the others.   
  
“Mona’s right about one thing,” he points out “We can’t hide in here. We have things to do. The aphrodisiac was our key into this palace.”   
  
“Yes,” Mona confirms “It makes sense too. She goes to that host club every night. If they spike their drinks all the time, then that means she’s feeling...like this...every single night.”   
  
He takes a small breath and looks quite troubled “It’s harder to get a grip on what her mindset is. Remember a palace is all about the mindset and how the ruler sees their own world. She’s in complete control here until we steal her treasure and force her to come to terms with what she’s done.”   
  
“Why did Loki make us come after her?” Ryuji frowns “I mean...she’s got a palace and I definitely don’t agree with what she’s been doin’. But...why did Loki make us come after her? Why is he calling the shots here?”   
  
A question Akira had been thinking over ever since Loki first made contact. At best he can figure, Loki is calling the shots because he seems to relish in some form of control. He has an ulterior motive, he’s part of the fake group of Phantom Thieves who don’t make people face and deal with their wrongdoing. Instead they’re killing them for it and it’s worrying because Akira can’t help but wonder if Rina is going to survive this ordeal.   
  
Even if they do everything right to make sure she doesn’t have a mental shut down, that isn’t going to keep her safe from the fake thieves who would probably kill her just like they killed Minagawa.   
  
Their chance is in the fact that Futaba is going after Jax - whom they suspect is with the fake Phantom Thieves. With any luck, she’ll find out who he is.   
  
“He’s got us by the balls here,” Ishida points out. He thinks about his words and winces “Sorry Ryuji, bad choice of words…”   
  
Ryuji whines and Ishida continues “If we don’t do what he tells us to do, people are going to die. If we do what he tells us to do…”   
  
“Rina’s going to die,” Shiho finishes for him, her eyes are far off and she shakes her head “I agree what she’s doing is not right but she doesn’t deserve to die for it. That’s not justice.”   
  
It goes without saying that the others agree.   
  
“For now,” Akira decides “Let’s focus on getting through this. We need to make her have a change of heart, then we’ll worry about what the fake group is going to do to her.”   
  
“That really fuckin’ pisses me off,” Ryuji grumbles “Some fake group killing people and using our name.”   
  
“With any luck, Futaba will find them,” Morgana nods and looks around “Alright, is everyone okay? Can we move now?”   
  
Everyone looks at Ryuji and the blonde looks down. He takes a deep breath “I think...I’m safe.”   
  
On cue the other boys look down as well and Shiho mutters something that sounds an awful lot like “I wish Ann was here.”   
  
“Okay,” Akira decides “Let’s go. We need to cover some ground, figure out where to go and what we’re dealing with.”   
  
Navigating Rina’s palace is scarily similar to Minagawa’s. The air is thick and humid, the walls are dripping with something Akira is kind of afraid to touch and even the shadows seem a little more agitated than they should normally be. The only thing he’s very thankful for is that the main problem of arousal is gone but that doesn’t seem to stop the rest of the palace.   
  
“Eww,” Shiho pales as she looks at the palace walls. They would be fine if it weren’t for the small droplets of ‘water’ running slowly down the walls, particularly over the portraits of boys. Shiho steps back a little “If I think about it too deeply-”   
  
“Don’t think about it too deeply,” Ishida advises her “I’m already trying not to.”   
  
“Guys keep alert,” Akira tells them and with the heavy atmosphere in the air, all his senses are on edge. It’s not just the humidity, it’s also instinctual. Like he knows how dangerous this area is and it’s actually more dangerous than it should be. Typically most palace invasions get dangerous the deeper they go. This one already feels extremely dangerous and they’ve only just begun.   
  
Ryuji is on edge as well. The other hasn’t made any comments about the atmosphere or the several portraits of good looking boys on the walls. They can all feel it, something is very wrong about this palace and it’s not like normal at all.   
  
“Let’s try to avoid guards,” Morgana advises, looking more than a little concerned “Something’s wrong with this palace and it’s not just the heat. The security level shouldn’t be so high, we haven’t even tripped any alarms.”   
  
“Could it be Akechi?” Shiho asks and Morgana looks confused before Shiho explains “When she’s at the host bar, her normal is Ran. Tonight she doesn’t have Ran, she has Akechi. Maybe he’s putting her on her guard.”   
  
“It’s possible,” Morgana hums “The mindset of the ruler is everything. If something is wrong in real life, something goes wrong here.”   
  
Akira leads them slowly through the halls and the humidity gets worse the deeper they go. Eventually they come to what appears to be a dining hall and when they see the four guards pacing around inside, they know immediately they’re not going to be able to avoid a fight. It’s one thing sneaking past whilst crouching around tables but the guard standing in front of the end door is stopping them from sneaking through successfully.   
  
Akira focusses. All the guards pacing around the hall are weaker than them but the one near the door gives him pause. It’s stronger. Too strong. Which tells Akira that whatever the guard is standing in front of is probably something extremely valuable.   
  
“We can handle the ones near the tables,” he tells the others quietly “It’s the one near the door. That one is too strong.”   
  
“How strong?” Morgana asks, peeking over Akira’s shoulder to see.   
  
Akira judges the guard near the door for a moment and turns to Morgana “Remember the Reaper?”   
  
Morgana pales immediately and Ryuji curses under his breath.   
  
“We’re undermanned,” Morgana tells him “We can’t take that thing on as we are now we need more people.”   
  
As frustrating as it is, Morgana is correct. Even Akira knows that if he goes in, they’re doomed. Even at the level that he, Morgana and Ryuji are at now, it’s still well above Ishida and Shiho. Certainly not enough for that monster.   
  
“What’s going on?” Ryuji mutters “A monster like that isn’t supposed to turn up until...he’s too early.”   
  
Akira wonders if it had something to do with the drink. When the effects of the drink had hit them, they’d managed to find their way to a safe room without much difficulty. In fact, the shadows had actually avoided them. Now however, they were irritated.   
  
“We need the others,” Akira decides “Akechi made sure the palace opened so the first part is over already. If we can get the others down here, this palace will be a lot easier to deal with.”   
  
“Let’s do that then,” Morgana nods “We can’t get far tonight. If we face that shadow as we are now, we’re going to lose so let’s back out.”   
  
“But if we get the others here and they have to drink that drink as well…” Shiho looks at the others “That’s going to be a problem...isn’t it?”   
  
“We’ll deal with that when they’re here,” Ishida points out “Now that we’ve got a better idea of what we’re dealing with here. We know now we can’t do this alone, we need everyone.”   
  
“If we don’t deal with this fast enough, Loki is going to start killing more people to prove his point,” Ryuji grits his teeth “This fucking sucks.”   
  
“Next time we should be able to head in with as many as we can, including Akechi,” Morgana nods “Now we’ve got a better idea of what we’re doing, we’ll be prepared.”   
  
Akira gets up and nods towards the exit “Let’s go,” he says “We can’t do much more here tonight.”   
  
* * *   
  
Akechi keeps his sharp eyes on Rina’s form as she shyly excuses herself to the bathroom for a moment. He’s been entertaining her for three hours now and it’s not unfamiliar territory to him. If there’s one thing Akechi knows he’s good at, it’s talking to people - particularly adults. He’d long since mastered the art of small talk and when it came to making people think he was not threatening and even kind of endearing, he had it down to an art.   
  
Even so, pouring Rina wine all night, sweet talking into her ear, pretending he didn’t notice where her eyes were going when she looked at him...all of that was taxing and he was quite glad for the break when she went to the bathroom.   
  
He leans back in the booth and takes a breath when one of the boys comes up and slides into the booth next to him.   
  
“You’re doin’ pretty well, newbie,” the boy says.   
  
Akechi tries not to grimace. The boy reeks of cologne and cigarettes. He’s number 12, dyed blonde hair, yankee-style appearance. So much jewellery he’d sink to the bottom of the ocean if Akechi ever gave into the urge to push him off the bridge.   
  
For the girl who actually likes that kind of guy.   
  
“It’s nothing,” he smiles at the guy “If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to talk to people.”   
  
“Even so,” the guy nods to the closed bathroom door “She’s not an easy one. Aside from you, Ran’s the only one who’s ever managed to get her to like him. We thought for sure she was gonna eat you alive when we found out the plan. Ran never gets sick.”   
  
Akechi watches the boy curiously and tilts his head “What is Ran like?” he asks, making it sound almost casual.   
  
“Dunno,” the guy shrugs “He’s quiet. Normally keeps to himself - never hangs out with any of us. He just comes in, does his job and then leaves again. He’s a weirdo.”   
  
That, Akechi had already kind of gathered given that Rina seemed quite demanding. Even if Ran was inclined to hang out with his coworkers, Akechi suspected Rina wouldn’t have let him if she took all his nights and demanded only him.   
  
Number 12 heads away before Rina comes back. She slides back into the booth and curls easily into Akechi’s side. Akechi pushes the unease to the back of his head and lets his arm slide over her shoulders, pulling her close like a lover. He pours her another round of champagne and eyes her curiously.   
  
They spike the drinks here. He learnt that fast. They didn’t make him do it personally but he knows the glasses contain just a sliver of aphrodisiac. Not enough to be detected but certainly enough to be effective on the clients.   
  
It’s ingenius. It’s also illegal, he notes with a hint of disdain and makes a note to report this place when they’re done with it.   
  
“Hayato,” Rina purrs and reaches her finger up to touch his chin “You remind me of my darling Ran.”   
  
Akechi isn’t sure that’s a compliment.   
  
“I know I’m a poor substitute,” he tells her with a small smirk and hands her a glass “But I trust you’re having fun with me?”   
  
“I am,” Rina smiles, her manicured fingers curling easily around the wine glass. She leans in a little closer “I’d have more fun if you’d come with me somewhere…”   
  
_I’d rather shove a spike through my head,_ Akechi answers in his mind. Instead he smiles and gently clinks his wine glass with hers.   
  
She drinks, he pretends to take a sip and puts the glass down again. At the very best, he hopes that Akira and the others get far tonight because if he has to keep doing this, he might actually end up finishing the job himself.   
  
It would be so much easier to just wander into her palace, find her subconscious and kill it. The mental shut down would almost be poetic after what she’s done. But he knows Akira wouldn’t approve. The others wouldn’t either and that’s where Akechi and the Phantom Thieves differ.   
  
The world would be better off without monsters like Minagawa and Rina. That’s real justice.   
  
He soon feels a familiar connection in his mind and hears Akira’s voice before long.   
  
_We’re back,_ he says _It’s no good. We need more people, her palace is going to be harder than we thought. I’m going to contact the others._   
  
Akechi glances at Rina beside him. He hums to himself. It’s not entirely surprising the palace would be a lot harder than they thought it was originally going to be. They were already warned by Loki that the entire metaverse had changed completely. The rules had changed, now it wasn’t just people with distorted desires who were in danger, everyone was.   
  
The only thing he couldn’t figure out was why Loki had access to Mementos and they didn’t. If they were all Persona users, it should have stood to reason that they’d be able to go there just as Loki could. Something was missing, a small piece of information he needed to connect this. There was something Loki had that they didn’t and that missing piece could actually mean the difference between life and death in this case.   
  
“Hayato-kun?” Rina looks up at him and cuddles closer into his side. “Are you listening to me?”   
  
Akechi smiles and pulls her closer “Always,” he promises.   
  
It’s not until about three hours later, in the earliest hours of the morning when he’s finally allowed to leave. Rina takes her leave, satisfied with his company and the host bar begins to clear out. Akechi changes into his normal clothes as one of the guys claps him on the shoulder.   
  
“You did well newbie,” he compliments “See you later.”   
  
Akechi watches him leave and checks the time. _Akira,_ he calls in his head _Are you awake?_   
  
No answer and he’s not surprised. The metaverse would have wiped him out. He pulls the last of his things together and is just about to leave the dressing room when the door opens. Akechi looks up and freezes when he recognises the boy in front of him. Granted he’s only seen him on paper and from far away but there’s no mistaking him. It’s Nishizawa Ran.   
  
The boy pockets a set of keys and nods to Akechi “Can we talk?” he asks.   
  
Akechi tilts his head “Aren’t you supposed to be sick?”   
  
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from here?” Ran replies, ignoring the question completely.   
  
Akechi eyes him curiously and Ran nods back at the door “Let’s talk,” he says “Some kid spiked my drink and got me sick tonight. I don’t believe in coincidences, it was one of your acquaintances.”   
  
“That’s a heavy charge,” Akechi challenges him “Especially if you have no proof.”   
  
Ran eyes him and Akechi picks up his bag. He follows Ran out of the host bar and falls into step beside him when they reach the footpath. Akechi tries to read Ran but the other is almost completely closed off.   
  
“I know a nearby place that serves this late,” he says and pulls his bag up onto his shoulder “Let’s go.”   
  
_Akira?_ Akechi calls again in his head.   
  
He gets no answer and follows after Ran without another word.   
  
* * *   
  
When Akira opens his eyes, he recognises the top of the train and listens to the sound of the tracks. The train is going somewhere, he doesn’t know where but he assumes it’s going somewhere, even though all he can see outside the window is black.   
  
He sits up and rubs his head, half expecting to see Minato as usual but when he glances over at the other side of the car, the seats are empty. The entire car is empty and Akira gets up onto his feet. He looks around, stabilizing himself against the wobbling movement of the car and starts walking towards the car door.   
  
“Minato?” he calls, reaching for the door to slide it open and head into the next car.   
  
But it’s empty. So is car 6, car 5, 4 and 3. Akira keeps walking, keeping his eyes open but every car he enters is empty and all he can hear is the empty and hollow sound of the train running along the tracks.   
  
Finally he enters car 2 and when he pulls the door open, he sees something different. Not Minato but a tall boy with light grey hair in a slight bowl cut. He wears a black jacket with a white button up top underneath and yellow headphones sit atop his shoulders. His pants are dark and slightly ripped with orange sneakers. He looks up when Akira enters and nods in greeting.   
  
Akira looks over him for a moment and slides the door closed behind himself.   
  
“Narukami Yu, I presume,” he states with a nod.   
  
“Kurusu Akira, I presume,” Yu answers in the same tone, albeit slightly amused “Took your time.”   
  
“Excuse me for being alive,” Akira snips back just as fast and Yu laughs.   
  
“So you are as much a smartass as he said you were,” Yu gestures to the seats across from him and Akira sits down to face him.   
  
There’s nothing threatening about Yu but just like Minato, Yu seems to exert an effortless and silent aura of leadership. Wild cards they are, Akira immediately recognises it in Yu just like he could in Minato.   
  
He also senses that Yu talks about as much as Akira does. Which is not a lot.   
  
Akira watches him carefully and nods “I’m asleep.”   
  
“Of course you are,” Yu tells him “Sorry for dragging you out of your dreams but now that you’re the last persona user, we have to make sure the monsters that came out of that hell don’t come for you as well.”   
  
“The Tani you mean?” Akira asks, recalling what Minato had called them.   
  
“Or Dementors if you prefer,” Yu teases with a sly grin on his face. He shakes his head “Yes. Those things. They’re out and you’re their new target.”   
  
Akira nods he knows this already but there also must have been a reason to call him out.   
  
Yu nods to the first car and turns back to Akira “He’s in there,” he tells him “Be gentle with him. He’s had time to figure some things out and...well he knows a lot more now.”   
  
Akira glances at the first car and he can see Minato sitting inside. His headphones are back over his ears and his eyes are far off in thought. He turns back to Yu “What’s the plan from here on out?”   
  
“To stop you from being taken away,” Yu says and his tone is calm but his eyes are harder, determined almost. “That’s not something you can do from your end so it’s up to me and my team. Once the Tani come for you, there’s nothing you can do to stop them. So it’s our job to stop them before they can get to you.”   
  
Akira frowns, slightly confused “Aren’t you guys...you know...dead?”   
  
“Technically?” Yu shrugs “I don’t know what’s going on but I’m still here. Can’t go back to the real world anymore but I’m still able to move in the Metaverse and so can everyone else. Whilst we hold the Tani back from getting you, your job is to find out who is behind this.”   
  
A job easier said than done but Akira nods anyway.   
  
Yu points him towards the first car “Go see him,” he instructs “Minato had an...awakening of sorts when I arrived. He’s come to terms with some things and you probably need to hear it from him.”   
  
Saying no more, Akira gets up and turns to head towards the first car. He slides the door open and as he does, Minato looks up. He looks a lot more alert than usual. That cool, almost far off look he normally sports is gone and instead he looks uncharacteristically guilty.   
  
Akira sits down across from him and Minato takes his headphones off to settle them down on his shoulders instead.   
  
“So you’re the last one,” Minato sighs “I...remembered something. Why it hurts me whenever Tani come close.”   
  
Akira remembers the last time one of those things had lingered outside the train. The feeling of all the warmth in the air being sucked out, the red eyes staring at him, forcing the image of his dead friends in his mind. But he remembers also the pained look on Minato’s face whilst it had happened, like its presence had physically hurt him.   
  
“It’s a long story so I’ll shorten it,” Minato tells him “You’re about to be woken up. Long story short, I sacrificed myself awhile ago to save humanity. Gave myself to hold the door to misery closed, the seal of Nyx...in a nutshell. I was there for years, a statue that prevented disaster. Elizabeth…” his eyes glaze over “...she came after me. She’d been looking for a way for years and finally found one…”   
  
His eyes glaze over a little and he takes another breath “This is my fault. In being the seal, I prevented disaster. But I didn’t realise that behind the seal, my presence alone would drag the Tani out. They’d been dormant, asleep...until they realised I was there and Elizabeth…” he shakes his head “She found out that the Tani could get me out of the seal. So she…”   
  
The train grows cold and Minato looks up. The lights flicker and he turns his eyes back to Akira “The Tani are monsters whose sole purpose is to eat persona users. They’re strong, they’re stronger than all of us and the only hope we have is to somehow put them back in the hell they came from. That’s not something you can do, it’s our job. Your job is to find out who is messing with the Metaverse.”   
  
Akira frowns “It’s not Elizabeth?”   
  
“It might be,” Minato mutters quietly “Once she found a way to free me, she didn’t care about the consequences. She pulled the Tani out and they freed me from the seal but in doing so, they were also free themselves. They came after the first persona users first and started working their way through the generations. I was still recovering from the seal so I didn’t realise what was going on until...just now actually. My memories are back.”   
  
A pained look crosses his face and Akira looks up to see them. Large, dark shadows passing outside the train. They can’t come in but they’re sucking the warmth out of the air, they’re freezing the windows and Akira feels a familiar sense of hopelessness tugging at his chest. He watches Minato curl up in pain and he has to close his eyes. It hurts, everything hurts, it’s so cold and he feels like nothing will ever be alright again.   
  
“Minato,” Akira hisses “Where is Elizabeth? Who is Elizabeth?”   
  
Minato doesn’t answer. He’s curled up on the seat, pressing his forehead to the seat and sweating as the Tani slowly passes by the train. When at last it is gone and a little warmth seeps back into the air, Minato pants and stays down.   
  
“Ask...Lavenza,” he breathes “If anyone knows, it’s going to be her. Or Margaret.”   
  
He slowly pushes himself back into a sitting position and takes a deep breath “This is a promise I’m making you now,” he says “We...that is, my team and Narukami’s team, are going to hold the Tani back. Your job is to find out what happened to the Metaverse and who is running it now. Whether it’s Elizabeth or not, stop whoever is doing it. Once we find out who is behind all of this and stop them, it’ll be easier to push the Tani back to the hell they came from.”   
  
Akira nods. It takes away one worry. If Minato and Yu are holding the Tani back, that means Akira isn’t going to be attacked by them anytime soon. Neither are his friends. Since Loki seems to know more about what is happening to the metaverse, it just makes even more sense to go after him.   
  
Still, one thing caught his attention. He frowns “When you say...hell….?”   
  
A wry smile appears on Minato’s face and he nods “Hell,” he repeats “I don’t know much about specifically where they’re from. When I had a friend of mine look into it, she found references to succubus and...sheep,” he frowns “Whatever it is, we know the sole purpose of a Tani is to eat persona users. We’ll make sure it doesn’t get you.”   
  
The train continues running as normal and Minato takes a deep breath “Kurusu,” he says, his tone a little shaky “If Elizabeth is behind this, be gentle with her. She sacrificed a lot to find a way to pull me out….when she finally found a way, she must have...her mind…”   
  
Akira nods and he looks up when he feels something pulling his consciousness. Waking him up.   
  
“Do your end, we’ll do ours,” Minato tells him as Yu comes into the car and sits down next to him. “Be careful, Kurusu.”   
  
Yu nods and Akira closes his eyes. He feels something tugging him awake and doesn’t fight as it takes him out of the train and away from both of them.   
  
* * *   
  
**6/4 - Thursday**   
  
Ann sits in the police station. Again. She was called out early in the morning and she’s been through this one too many times.   
  
They’re going to ask her the same questions. Make her go through the same night. Recall everything.   
  
She bites her lip and looks down at her hands on her lap. Her fingers dig into her knees and she closes her eyes. She hates it. She hates going through all of it. She hates that the police won’t believe her, keep asking her to come in, keep making her go through it without a care that going through that night over and over is like ripping her open and letting her bleed.   
  
She was already missing Ryuji and Akira but the loss of Rise was just the cherry on top.   
  
The door opens and a man wanders in. He looks as tired as she feels, he has a three day stubble on his face, short grey hair, tired looking eyes and he’s not wearing the same uniform the others had. In fact the almost casual clothes he wears tells Ann he’s different from the others.   
  
“Sorry to call you in so early,” he says as he puts his coffee down on the table and takes a seat on the other end with a tired sigh “But this will hopefully be the last time.”   
  
Ann doesn’t believe him. The last cop said that too and the one before that. Yet here she is. Again.   
  
The detective eyes her and nods “I know you’re tired,” he tells her “But I’m not like the others. I’m the one they called in to make a final decision on this case.”   
  
He reaches for the cassette recorder on the table and turns it off. He then turns back to Ann “I’m going to have you tell me your story one more time. Then I’ll make a decision on whether you’re guilty or not. We have no proof and we can’t keep calling you back in like this. So my decision is final.”   
  
“If you have no proof, doesn’t that already mean I’m innocent?” Ann frowns “Why did you guys keep calling me in before? Do you realise how many times I’ve come back here since Rise disappeared?”   
  
“That wasn’t my call,” the man replies “And again, I’m the one they call to make a final decision. They couldn’t make up their minds so that’s my job. I promise you, Takamaki-san, that once I’m done, it really will be the end. Whichever way I decide.”   
  
It’s not really encouraging but Ann doesn’t really have a choice. She takes a deep breath and runs through it one more time. The night of the fashion show, she’d come back to Rise’s place for the night. She tells him about how Rise had been scared of something but neither knew what it was. She tells him about falling asleep, about waking up to Yusuke’s messages, the feeling in the air going cold and finally Rise’s disappearance. She’d said ‘Senpai’ and then she was gone.   
  
When she’s finished, the detective nods in understanding. Ann obviously cut out the more metaverse-stuff but it’s the same story she’s been telling for days now. It hasn’t changed.   
  
She watches as he reaches for his coffee and finishes it off. He scratches his stubble and nods again “Alright,” he finally decides “You’re free to go, Takamaki-san.”   
  
Ann blinks “Just like that? You won’t call me back in again?”   
  
“I’m striking you off the investigation altogether. You’ll no longer be a suspect,” the man assures her as he gets up. He bows a little “I’m sorry for taking your time. The police will no longer be watching you anymore but if you remember anything, please feel free to contact us.”   
  
Ann blinks. She wishes he’d come in earlier if his decision was so final. It could have saved her days of running through the same story again but she’s glad he came to finally put a lid on all of it.   
  
Someone knocks on the door and they look up to see one of the police officers peeking his head in “Dojima-san,” he says and holds up a cellphone “It’s your daughter.”   
  
The detective, Dojima, nods and turns back to Ann “Well then,” he says “Be safe on your way home, Takamaki-san.”   
  
With another bow, he leaves the room and Ann looks down to her phone to see a new message from Ryuji.   
  
**Ryuji:** U ok?   
  
Ann doesn’t really know why, she doesn’t understand it herself but in that moment all she can remember is the last time Rise smiled at her. The last time Ryuji and Akira were in Tokyo with her and all she wants is all of them back with her. If nothing else, the only thing she’s learnt is how much she needs her friends with her.   
  
She tries to swallow the lump in her throat as she answers him.   
  
**Ann:** I miss Rise.   
  
She gets up and follows the policeman back out to the front where her mother awaits. She then follows her to the car and when she’s seated again, she holds back her tears. This entire ordeal, losing Rise, losing her friends, fearing for their lives...it’s very different to how things were last year. All she wants is all of them, safe and preferably close to her.   
  
She turns her face away from her mother, hiding her tears as she looks at her phone again.   
  
**Ryuji:** We need you here.   
  
She sniffs and rubs at her face. She stares at her phone and her fingers move on their own.   
  
**Ann:** Do you need me there?   
  
**Ryuji:** We all do. This new palace...we can’t do it alone.   
  
**Ann:** Ryuji, do you need _me_ there?   
  
There’s a weight behind her words and when he doesn’t answer her immediately, she knows he’s understood the implication behind her question. She’s not asking if her friends need her help with personas. Of course she will come but she’s asking Ryuji something else. If he needs her. Her specifically. Because whatever this is, they’ve been dancing around it for over a year and if there’s one thing Ann has learnt, it’s that she needs to hold her friends close whilst she has the chance.   
  
Especially if they, just like Rise, get taken away from her one day.   
  
**Ryuji:** Come back.   
  
It’s short and very much like Ryuji to leave out the meaning but Ann gets it just fine. She takes a deep breath and puts her phone down. Something flutters at the thought that Ryuji means her specifically and it makes her feel just a little better.   
  
**Ann:** <3

**Ryuji:** ...shutup   
  
**Ann:** ^_^   
  
* * *   
  
Yusuke looks around the practice room. He was dragged out here too early in the morning by an overexcited Sora who kept saying he had something to show him. It’s too early, approximately 7 in the morning but Yusuke by now is a little more awake and watching the other curiously, wondering what in the world had to be so important.   
  
“Thanks for coming,” Sora beams at him as if Yusuke had a choice in the matter “I had an epiphany last night and I was up all night writing. I haven’t slept in over 24 hours.”   
  
Yusuke raises an eyebrow at him and Sora beams “Take a seat. I’m going to play you something and I’d like your thoughts. Your honest, raw opinion.”   
  
“Mine?” Yusuke blinks, a little more than surprised “Why mine?”   
  
“Who better than an artist?” Sora smiles and gestures to the synthesiser he has set up next to his laptop “Besides, I value your opinion. Nobody else has heard this song so you’ll be the first.”   
  
Yusuke suddenly feels somewhat underprepared for this but he nods and watches as Sora sets himself up. Sora certainly looks like he hasn’t had much sleep. His hair is all over the place, there’s slight bags under his eyes and his clothes are wrinkled just a bit. He pays no attention to it as he sits down and begins to play a slow, sweet and almost hauntingly dark tune from his computer.   
  
At first the tune throws Yusuke off a little. He closes his eyes and listens to the different sounds, different melodies coming from the song and it’s nothing like the last song he heard from Sora. This one is different, slightly edgier. The melody itself reminds Yusuke of hopelessness, strangely enough.   
  
This is what caught his attention about Sora’s music in the first place. The emotions etched into the melody, into the lyrics themselves, are so easy to feel and recognise. They’re coming from somewhere deep and Yusuke recognises it easily.   
  
_“The brightness dims to the night,”_ Sora’s voice croons gently from the computer audio _“You don’t get it, never got enough. You’re gonna find me, right in your heart.”_   
  
Futaba curls herself up in her bed as Sojiro knocks on her door again early in the morning.   
  
“Futaba?” he calls “Are you feeling better? School is soon, you should get ready.”   
  
Nope. Not ready. Not even close. The thought of everything waiting for her out there. No. Futaba curls up more and shakes her head. All she can feel is his hands, all she can hear is his voice and she closes her eyes shut tight.   
  
“I’m still sick,” she calls back to Sojiro “I’m not going today.”   
  
A beat. Sojiro gets it now.   
  
“Futaba?” he calls and tries her doorknob but she’s locked it “Futaba what’s going on?”   
  
“Nothing!” Futaba says “Nothing.”   
  
“Futaba!” Sojiro jiggles the doorknob again “Futaba open up, you can’t do this again.”   
  
Futaba doesn’t answer. She feels Hiro’s breath on her ear and she wants to clean it but that involves leaving this room. She can still feel his hands holding her, bruising her skin and she puts her pillow over her head.   
  
No. She’s not leaving. She’s not going anywhere. She feels it again, the same thing that kept her in her room last time and it’s fear. She can’t do it. She can’t face it again when it’s so much safer in her room.   
  
Sojiro eventually stops calling for her. She listens to him pace away from her door and keeps her eyes closed.   
  
Maybe if she stays here long enough, it’ll go away and she’ll go back to normal. But it’s a lie and she knows it, still she can’t move. She can’t go anywhere.   
  
_“When the cold surrounds my scar. When life seems oh so hard…”_   
  
“Akira,”   
  
Opening his eyes, Akechi’s face is the first thing Akira sees in the morning. He doesn’t even know how the other got up to his room or where Morgana is. Everything Yu and Minato said is in the back of his mind and he knows he has to sit everyone down and talk it out with them, hash out some sort of plan.   
  
But right now, right at this moment, that is the last thing on his mind as he looks at the other boy leaning over him as he sits on the side of the bed.   
  
Akira rubs at his eyes but stays lying down “Morgana?” he asks, his voice stuffy with sleep.   
  
Akechi smirks “He’s in the shower. He couldn’t wake you up so...luckily I was already here.”   
  
Akira opens his eyes and he sees the look on Akechi’s face “What?” he asks “Did something happen?”   
  
Akechi shakes his head “I’ll explain later,” he promises “For now, get up. We have school soon.”   
  
But Morgana is in the shower and when Akira checks the time, he counts about ten minutes, at least, in which he doesn’t have to move so he reaches his arms up, grabs Akechi’s shoulders and pulls him down to lie on top of him.   
  
Akechi chuckles “This is not getting up,” he says but he settles on top of Akira anyway. He leans down to take Akira’s lips and Akira lets him, sinking down into the mattress to kiss him back and just enjoy what he has.   
  
Akechi’s hair is so soft, his lips are too and Akira loses himself in them, forgetting for another moment all the troubles of a leader and clinging instead to Akechi Goro.   
  
_“I’ll say...I’ll love you right. You ‘aint lovin you right.”_   
  
Yusuke watches and listens. Sora’s voice, as always, is perfect with the melody. The lyrics, although loving, tell a different story. It’s about love but the beginning of the song is very different to the end. The beginning sings of love, of going after another out of love or desire. As the song carries on, the lyrics imply a sense of winning. Of a love accepted and even returned.   
  
But the last part is what catches Yusuke off guard. He catches the implication in the lyrics perfectly and he looks at Sora when the song ends. The other is looking at him, silent, waiting for him to speak.   
  
“The end,” Yusuke says “I…”   
  
“Don’t hold back,” Sora tells him “Tell me your raw thoughts. I need to know.”   
  
“This is a love song,” Yusuke frowns “It’s a love song but...I felt something else. A sense of loss.”   
  
Sora doesn’t answer and Yusuke continues slowly “It tells the story of someone who pursues someone else. Their love is accepted and that should have been the happy end but it’s not.”   
  
Sora smiles and nods “Love is meant to be painful, isn’t it?”   
  
Yusuke shrugs “I wouldn’t know,” he confesses. The closest he’s felt is what he feels for Ryuji and that is still confusing him. Whether it’s love or not, he doesn't know and he doesn’t want to know. All he knows is that it hurts like hell.   
  
“You wrote the song,” Yusuke points out “So that means...you know what it feels like.”   
  
Sora nods and Yusuke frowns “If I may ask, who were you thinking of?”   
  
The other smiles and shakes his head “It’s a secret,” he says playfully and presses his finger against his lips. He closes his laptop and gets up “Right!” he exclaims “Now that that’s over, I’m starving. Let’s have breakfast.”   
  
Yusuke stares, watching incredulously as the other skips out of the practice room and wonders why Sora keeps insisting on hanging out with him at the weirdest of times. Not that he hates his presence but it confuses him because Sora doesn’t explain anything. He just appears and he’s there for no reason other than he simply wants to be there.   
  
Problem child indeed.   
  
* * *   
  
**Akira:** I bought Morgana a phone.   
  
**Makoto:** How is he handling it?   
  
**Morgana:** OUBEAHTKGSUEDHBOGSUDJOSJRNVL29I3   
  
**Haru:** …   
  
**Akira:** Anyway. We need you all. Can you make it back here?   
  
**Haru:** Of course!   
  
**Makoto:** You don’t have to ask, we’ll always come out when we can.   
  
**Ann:** Case is dropped for me, I’m coming.   
  
**Yusuke:** Yes.   
  
**Ryuji:** Alright! Phantom Thieves together again! We should do a real welcome party too for Kid and Suzui.   
  
**Morgana:** ksansofiashowj08np3iq3   
  
**Ann:** Someone teach Morgana how to use a phone.   
  
**Akechi:** Nope. Not me.   
  
**Akira:** Nope.   
  
**Ishida:** Hell no.   
  
**Shiho:** I have homework.   
  
**Makoto:** Well that leaves you, Ryuji.   
  
**Ryuji:** What?!   
  
**Haru:** Good luck Ryuji.   
  
**Morgana:** ADUHFO9A8DJF083NDQL   
  
**Haru:** ?   
  
**Akira:** He says he’s looking forward to seeing you all again.   
  
**Morgana:** !@R$G%$B   
  
**Akechi:** Especially Ann.   
  
**Morgana:** @”E! @E#@$TWSVSGRg   
  
**Akechi:** He also says he has a huge wart on his rear.   
  
**Morgana:** @#FW$GWTBEBWR$GWETFHFSHSFHSDXGDGHSDVBFHGNHDSGNDGBDHSDZXGFSFNDFGBD   
  
**Akira:** And he wants Ann to look at it.   
  
**Morgana:** f3uh9wvu7hw4o383hfoquaneioa8e0f3uh   
  
**Yusuke:** I did not need to know that.   
  
**Makoto:** I suspect some mistranslation…   
  
**Haru:** Mona-chan, don’t worry. I’ll teach you how to use the phone.   
  
**Morgana:** iun98q2c3n   
  
**Haru:** You’re welcome.   
  
**Makoto:** It’s settled then, we’ll be there in a few days.   
  
**Akechi:** Perfect.   
  
**Ryuji:** Can’t wait!   
  
**Ann:** Where’s Futaba?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, at last this chapter squeezes its way out.  
> I have been loving all of your comments, they have gotten me through one hell of a rough month and a bit (sorry it took so long!) I get kudos messages all the time and it just makes me so happy to know people are still reading here, even if I suck at updating as much as I was before.  
> Japan is entering the summer humidity and my non-stop schedule of concerts has finally taken a break as my idols gear up for whatever they're doing next. Bye bye money, I knew thee well.
> 
> Also in Persona news, there is a VR feature on the dancing games but turns out that the little line in Japanese about VR being necessary is a small lie because you can still play the game just fine without them.  
> Now I only need Goro to join the team of dancing persona users XD
> 
> Also, I realise our beautiful main character has a different name as per the anime series but I'm going off the manga here.  
> Your comments and opinions are welcome! I realise the plot is kind of moving at a snails pace but there's a lot of ground to cover. Tell me what you love, tell me if theres anything you don't love, opinions are everything to an author :)  
> I look forward to seeing you all again in the next chapter.


	14. Blood is Thicker...

**8/4 - Saturday**  
  
 **RETURN OF THE PHANTOM THIEVES WEBSITE**   
  
**POLL QUESTION:** Do you want the true Phantom Thieves to return?   
  
**YES:** 10.9%   
  
**COMMENTS**  
  
 **Anon:** zzzz   
  
**707:** PHANTOMTHIEVES4LYFE!   
  
**Kanekichi:** But they killed a guy didn’t they?   
  
**findrisekujikawa@gofundme.com:** Find Rise Kujikawa! Help my go fund me!   
  
**Anon:** iF U don’t fwd dis 2 nine ppl u get bad luck 2moro 

 

* * *

  
The sun has barely risen when it finds Akira Kurusu flat on his back. Akechi’s apartment is still dark, the only light coming from his phone charging on the bedside table. Akira closes his eyes, sweat beading slowly along his forehead as he reaches for the sheets underneath him and pulls in a fruitless attempt to keep his sanity.   
  
The reason for his distress is hidden under the blankets, chuckling as he watches Akira losing it under his ministrations.   
  
_I don’t know why you hold back,_ Akechi’s voice teases in his mind. _I win if you make a noise._  
  
 _I win if I don’t,_ Akira hisses back at him and bites his lip when Akechi licks a particularly sensitive spot. He breathes slowly and opens his eyes to look down at the lump of blankets covering his lower half and most of Akechi. Akira can still see some tufts of his brown hair.   
  
It’s torturous, the way everything Akechi does makes Akira’s hair stand on edge, makes his toes curl and his entire body shiver with heat spreading warm over his entire body. He shakes and resists the urge to reach under the blankets and grab Akechi’s hair.   
  
Then Akechi hums and the vibrations make Akira moan out loud without thinking. He hears Akechi’s victorious laugh in his head and grits his teeth.   
  
_Shit,_ Akira mutters in his head. _Two out of three._  
  
 _I won,_ Akechi teases. _Cough it up later, lover boy._   
  
Akira groans and looks up when his phone on the bedside table starts buzzing. He looks down at Akechi but the boy doesn’t seem to want to stop what he’s doing so Akira reaches over and takes the phone, answering the call as he puts the phone to his ear.   
  
“Yeah?” he breaths, keeping his voice steady as though Akechi isn’t under the blanket giving him the most agonisingly wonderful head.   
  
“You!” Sojiro’s voice snaps back at him “Get your ass over here right now. Futaba hasn’t left her room in three days. I thought I told you to keep an eye on her!”   
  
Akira’s breath hitches a little when he feels Akechi’s tongue and reaches his hand down to hold the boy by his head as he turns back to his phone “Futaba said she was sick.”   
  
“She’s obviously doing her hermit thing again and I can’t get the answer out of her so you’re going to have to,” Sojiro replies firmly “I trusted you to keep an eye on her, that’s the reason why I agreed to move here.”   
  
It’s a lie and Akira kind of knows it already. Sojiro had several reasons for moving down here, most of them had to do with his own worry over Akira as well. But one of the conditions had been that Akira keep an eye on Futaba whilst Sojiro couldn’t - a condition he’d apparently failed.   
  
Akechi’s tongue moves again and Akira hisses low under his breath, his hand tightens in Akechi’s hair and he tries to retain his sanity for the phone call “Okay,” he agrees quickly “I’ll be over soon.”   
  
“I don’t know what you guys are doing but…” Sojiro sighs tiredly “As much as you can, keep her safe. Get over here soon.”   
  
Akira makes a helpless, whimpering noise that kind of sounds like an affirmation and that’s apparently enough. Sojiro hangs up and Akira grits his teeth as waves and waves of pleasure just shoot through him. He pants and looks down “You’re really lucky Sojiro didn’t ask why I sounded weird,” he groans and flops his head back on the pillow.   
  
Akechi’s laugh makes him shake, he’s still in Akechi’s mouth so the vibrations go right through Akira and since Akechi’s mouth is full, he answers in his mind as Akira puts the phone away and runs a hand through his hair. He’s still fruitlessly holding onto his sanity.   
  
_You could have told him the truth,_ Akechi chides and sucks harder _That you owe me 3000 yen for losing the bet and moaning._  
  
 _I still think you should agree to a second round,_ Akira tells him and pulls at the sheets, it feels too fucking good.   
  
_Don’t get me wrong,_ Akechi hums and Akira grits his teeth.   
  
_I’m all for fair play,_ Akechi continues as if Akira isn’t so close he’s shaking, _but when I’m done with you. You won’t be able to manage a round two._   
  
Akira moans loudly, his body tightening and releasing like a shotgun. He distantly hears Akechi laughing as he sinks into the mattress and closes his eyes. He’ll get up and deal with everything later but right now all he cares about is Akechi climbing up on the bed and holding him tight, kissing his forehead and reminding him to pay him later.   
  
Asshole.   
  
* * *   
  
Early Saturday morning, Akira knocks on the door and glances at the group next to him. Akechi yawns into his hand and manages a sleepy smile at him. Ryuji is already zoning out, Shiho looks a little worried, Ishida is curious and Morgana folds his arms, humming to himself a little.   
  
“So…” Morgana breaks the sleepy silence “Something’s wrong with Futaba?”   
  
“Seems like it,” Akira confirms and knocks on the door again.   
  
Akechi smirks “Someone got a pissed off call from Sakura-san this morning,” he tells the others “To think such a kind cafe owner can sound that annoyed.”   
  
Akira isn’t sure what version of Sojiro he remembers but Akira wasn’t surprised Sojiro was angry. Akira was supposed to keep an eye on Futaba and now something had happened that she was staying in her room and answering no one. She wasn’t even answering her phone and in all honesty, he should have noticed earlier.   
  
He would have noticed earlier if he wasn’t so distracted with everything.   
  
Ryuji looks up, realising something about what Akechi said doesn’t add up “Hang on,” he frowns “Akechi what were you doing at Akira’s place this morning?”   
  
Akira doesn’t turn around but he hears Akechi’s answer in his head just fine.   
  
_Well my head was between his legs when he answered the phone and I’m still impressed he managed to keep his voice steady the whole time he was talking to Sakura-san..._   
  
Akira coughs and knocks on the door one more time. This time he hears thundering footsteps and is given barely a second of warning before the door is ripped open and Sojiro appears. He grabs Akira first and drags him inside.   
  
“You,” Sojiro growls, pausing to let Akira take his shoes off before he manhandles him down the hallway “I told you to keep an eye on her. What happened?”   
  
The others follow in after, all keeping their distance from Sojiro as he shoves Akira in front of Futaba’s closed door.   
  
“She hasn’t come out in three days,” Sojiro tells him, sounding somewhere between wrecked out of his mind with worry and angry - though Akira can’t actually tell who he’s angrier with. Himself for not being able to get Futaba out of her room or Akira because he was supposed to be looking out for her.   
  
“Three days, Akira,” Sojiro frowns “What happened?”   
  
“Actually that’s what I was going to ask you,” Akechi turns up behind Akira “What was she doing right before she locked herself in her room like this?”   
  
“She came home bawling her eyes out about something,” Sojiro folds his arms and sets his unimpressed sights on Akira “She wouldn’t tell me what went wrong. The next morning I couldn’t get her out of bed. I let her have one day because she said she was sick but I know what this is and I’ve seen her do it before.”   
  
Akira takes a deep breath. Ann, Yusuke, Makoto and Haru are supposed to arrive this afternoon and they don’t have time. They need to get into the palace and break down as many of Rina’s defenses as they can whilst they have the power of the entire team at their disposal. That team includes Futaba.   
  
He knocks on the door and isn’t surprised when she doesn’t answer.   
  
“She hasn’t come out once? Not even for food?” Shiho asks worriedly.   
  
“She won’t open her door unless I back away from it and leave the food on the floor,” Sojiro looks pained. He sweeps over the group before his eyes land on Morgana and he frowns in confusion.   
  
“Ah,” Ryuji gestures to Morgana “This is the cat. Morgana.”   
  
“Morgana?” Sojiro eyes him up and down “The stray cat?”   
  
“I’m not a cat,” Morgana insists with a familiar glare “I’m a person now!”   
  
“I’m sure it’s a long story,” Sojiro sighs and steps back. He points to Akira “You, get her out of her room. I’m going to make coffee, does anyone want some?”   
  
“Oh yes please!” Akechi bounces after him. Ishida, Morgana and Shiho follow. Ryuji stays behind and winces at the thought of the coffee.   
  
“That stuff was bitter as hell,” he shivers and goes to knock on the door “Oy, Futaba,” he calls “It’s just us.”   
  
No answer.   
  
Akira tries again. He leans against the wood of the door and presses his ear to the door, listening for movement. He’s quite relieved when he hears her shuffling around inside. Oh good, she’s not dead. He stays leaning against the door, listening to her snuffle before he places a hand next to his head on the door. He thinks for a moment and hums “Do you wanna build a snowman?”   
  
Ryuji chokes but they both look up when they hear Futaba snort.   
  
“Oh good,” Ryuji sighs “She’s alive.”   
  
“Futaba,” Akira knocks on the door again “Come out...or...let us in.”   
  
He steps back when he hears a small click and the door opens just a little. Futaba’s head peeks out and she looks at him, then at Ryuji for a moment. She then reaches for Akira’s arm and drags him into the darkness of her room. She then grabs Ryuji and yanks him in before shutting her door again.   
  
Akira fumbles for the light. He trips over something and when his hand finally finds the light switch and turns it on, he’s not prepared for the mess that greets his eyes. Futaba had only been locked in her room three days and yet when he turns the light on, he sees bags and bags of trash lying around her small room. Her computer desk is so piled up with junk he can barely see her computer, her floor is covered in trash and Futaba herself is curled up under her blankets again.   
  
“The hell?!” Ryuji gasps as he looks around “It’s only been three days!”   
  
Futaba makes a noise under the blanket and Akira glances over at Ryuji. He gently wades his way through the junk and sits on the end of her bed, next to her feet. Ryuji leans against the desk, accidentally making a couple of things fall onto the pile on the floor as he does so.   
  
“Okay,” Akira pats the bed “Futaba, it’s just us. What’s wrong?”   
  
“Nothing’s wrong,” Futaba mumbles and curls up a little tighter under her blankets “I’m just feeling sick.”   
  
“You know I’d believe that if….well if you actually sounded sick,” Ryuji shrugs and looks at the lump of blankets that is Futaba.   
  
She coughs twice and a small smile cracks across Ryuji’s face as he shakes his head and turns away to pretend he’s not amused.   
  
Akira looks over the blankets patiently and when she doesn’t answer, he pokes her and watches the blankets quickly shift as she moves underneath. He pokes the lump again and watches it squirm to the wall in an attempt to get away from him. Ryuji watches as Akira pokes it one more time and Futaba squirms to the head of her bed, trying to get away.   
  
“Futaba,” Akira sighs “Come on.”   
  
They wait until she sighs and finally she gently sits up. The blankets fall and she looks absolutely miserable. She looks at Akira for a moment and glances at Ryuji before taking another breath “Something happened,” she muttered “With Jax.”   
  
Ryuji raises an eyebrow but to his credit, he says nothing and waits on her to get to the point.   
  
“I tracked him down to the IT club,” Futaba tells them “There were four guys in there and I knew he was one of them. I sent a signal but...he didn’t respond right away. Then when I was on my way out…” she chokes a little and looks down.   
  
Akira frowns and leans in a little “Futaba,” he prompts and she looks at him.   
  
Futaba is shaking and the last time Akira saw her this shaken was when her ‘mother’ in her mind was beating her down with accusing words. He hasn’t seen her like this in awhile and it’s a solid indicator that whatever got her was fairly bad.   
  
“Do you guys know of a third year named Hiro?” Futaba asks and even saying his name feels like poison on her tongue “He’s in all these clubs-”   
  
“Yeah,” Ryuji answers “He’s a dick. Pencil pushing overachiever who’s probably taking steroids...he’s built like a fucking brickhouse.”   
  
Akira knows of him too but only as far as seeing him every now and then. He’s kind of hard to miss.   
  
Futaba looks down and it takes Akira about one second to realise what happened to shake her up this badly. He stares and feels a strange and foreign sense of rage rush through him once he gets what this means and what Hiro must have done.   
  
“He nearly…” Futaba mumbles “On my way out he...he grabbed me and he…”   
  
It takes Ryuji a little longer to connect the dots but when he does, his eyes go wide.   
  
“He…” Ryuji chokes “Did he-?!”   
  
“He almost,” Futaba closes her eyes “He would have...he was so big, I couldn’t stop him and…” she shivers and looks at Ryuji “He was stopped by Takeshi but still if he hadn’t been there I would have…”   
  
“That….fucking…” Ryuji steps back and for a moment it’s like he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He’s furious. That someone had done that to anyone would be unforgivable in Ryuji’s eyes but what pisses him off more is that it’s Futaba - someone he knows and cares about.   
  
His fists clench and unclench “When I get my hands on him I’ll…” he hisses and turns back to Futaba. Then he looks at the end of the bed and anger gives way to confusion when he notices it’s empty. Akira is gone and the bedroom door is open.   
  
“Wait...where did he go?”   
  
Futaba looks as well and sure enough, Akira is gone. She scrambles up and runs to the door, looking down the hallway to see the front door is open as well and Akira’s shoes are missing.   
  
* * *   
  
Yusuke leans against the pole and waits on the corner of the road. Makoto is coming by with Haru and Ann to pick him up before they drive to see the others and whilst he’s glad to be seeing his friends again, he’s also nervous.   
  
Although he’s tried his hardest not to think of him, Ryuji plagues his thoughts too often and Yusuke has been trying like hell to erase his presence from his thoughts and dreams. He’s spent more time painting other things, finding other hobbies to distract his thoughts, keeping his hands busy and his mind clear - a test of mental strength, Madarame would say.   
  
But nights do not protect him and Yusuke worries more than ever what seeing Ryuji again will do to him - it’ll hurt, he has no doubt about that.   
  
Especially since Ann…   
  
“Morning.”   
  
Yusuke jumps, he turns around to see Sora grinning at him. He takes in Sora’s messy curls and realises this is the first time he’s seen the other in his school uniform. Sora’s uniform has a dark green blazer with a white shirt underneath and black dress pants. He recognises the emblem on the chest and realises (with a sense of no surprise really) that Sora’s school is one only the elite, the famous and royal enter.   
  
“Before you think I’m stalking you,” Sora holds up his hands before Yusuke can say anything “I’m not. I just happened to be in the area on my way to school and bam, a wild Kitagawa Yusuke appears.”   
  
The boy giggles to himself and shakes his head “I wonder what would happen if I threw a pokeball at you, would you struggle?”   
  
Yusuke has no idea what this kid is on about. He frowns “Poke-what?”   
  
“Wow,” Sora’s eyes widen “An artist **and** living in a cave - we have a winner.”   
  
Yusuke stares, not offended, just confused and Sora shakes his head.   
  
“One day, we are having an anime-a-thon,” he promises “I will teach you in the art of One Piece, Attack on Titan and Pokemon.”   
  
“I…” Yusuke takes a breath and shakes his head “Anyway you should head to school. Don’t let me keep you.”   
  
“I was wondering what you’re doing here actually,” Sora shrugs harmlessly and comes up to him “Must be either fate or luck that I just...find you so easily.”   
  
The smile on his face is disarmingly cute and charming, Yusuke feels almost underprepared for what can only be described as ‘uncontrolled beauty’.   
  
“I’m waiting,” Yusuke explains, feeling somewhat uneasy. He doesn’t know why but when Sora finds him, he’s usually alone and it feels strange that not only does he not mind that fact but also Sora feels somewhat disconnected from his other friends - despite being the first treasure they saved since the metaverse opened up again. In a weird kind of way, Sora kind of feels like Yusuke’s only connection out of the Phantom Thieves. Sort of like a secret that only belongs to him - strange as that may sound.   
  
Sora tilts his head and glances at Yusuke’s bag near his feet. He hums “Are you going somewhere?”   
  
“For awhile,” Yusuke nods “We’re coming back on Sunday night.”   
  
“We?” Sora blinks at him and nods “Ah, Ann-chan is going with you?”   
  
“Yeah,” Yusuke hums and wonders how much he can actually tell Sora. He obviously has to leave out the part where they’re all Phantom Thieves and they might actually be in danger. He’s had a year and a half of keeping secrets where the Phantom Thieves were concerned and a lifetime of keeping secrets where Madarame was concerned.   
  
As much as he likes Sora - and he certainly doesn’t mind his strange presence - Sora is still not someone who knows, or can know, everything about Yusuke. Which is kind of a shame. If anyone should know the suffering of others and feel a motivation to help, it should be Sora. Sora, who has already faced more monsters than anyone will ever know.   
  
The boy smiles at Yusuke and once again he feels unprepared for the sudden onslaught of just pure beauty. He doesn’t know how Sora goes from day to day with his face, he really doesn’t.   
  
“I’ll be waiting for you then,” Sora promises.   
  
Yusuke feels something weird in his chest - like a sudden loss of breath - and takes a step back “Perhaps you’d like to see Ann too?” he suggests, deliberately creating a distance between them “She’ll be here soon.”   
  
“I’m okay,” Sora tells him, his eyes shamelessly watching Yusuke “I’ve seen you. I’m satisfied.”   
  
Yusuke doesn’t even know what that means and before he can even think to ask, Sora is already walking down the street. Yusuke stares long after the other disappears around the corner. He doesn’t know what Sora is, what he’s doing but it feels strange every time he talks to him.   
  
A car horn knocks Yusuke violently out of his thoughts and he turns around to see Makoto driving the van that pulls up next to him. She and Haru are in the front seat and when Yusuke pulls the back door open, he sees Ann already inside.   
  
“Morning!” Ann chirps at him.   
  
Makoto notices the look on Yusuke’s face and tilts her head “Yusuke-kun? Are you alright?”   
  
Yusuke shakes his head, whatever Sora does to his mind, it would do him no good to dwell on it now. He climbs into the van and pulls the door closed “I’m fine,” he assures the girls and takes a seat in the back. He feels strange enough as it is without Sora adding to the mix and he wonders - not for the first time - if this thing with Ryuji and Sora is at all connected.   
  
But of course, when it came to education and self-awareness, Yusuke was more disadvantaged than most. It wasn’t like Madarame had gone out of his way to teach Yusuke about this part of adolescence. Things like sexuality, identity had taken a backseat in favour of the pursuit of art and now Yusuke was left adrift.   
  
More than anything, he didn’t understand himself and what was going on in his own head. That, perhaps, was the scariest part of all of this.   
  
* * *   
  
By the time Ryuji, Futaba and the others get to school, Akira is already there. They find them in the IT classroom, Akira has Hiro’s massive muscular body pinned to the blackboard and he’s already landed some bruising hits before Ryuji and Morgana bust in and grab Akira to pull him off.   
  
“Akira!” Morgana yelps, grabbing the boy by his arms “Stop! This is not the-”   
  
Akira slams his elbow in Hiro’s nose and listens to it break. He feels Akechi’s arms wrap around his waist, pulling him back but not before Akira lands a well-aimed kick at Hiro’s stomach and lets the boy flop down pitifully onto the floor.   
  
Ryuji grabs Akira’s other arm and pulls him back with the others. Futaba, Ishida and Shiho watch in stunned amazement from the doorway as Hiro slumps, whimpering and in pain. Ryuji lands one kick at his stomach and the guy curls up a little more.   
  
“Cock,” Ryuji hisses at him and helps the others drag Akira away before he actually kills Hiro.   
  
They drag Akira into an empty classroom. The others follow and as Ishida closes the door, they finally let Akira go.   
  
Futaba stares in disbelief “You...did you kill him?”   
  
“He was going to,” Akechi laughs and grabs Akira’s arm to stop him going back to the door “Leave it. He’s learnt his lesson. He won’t do it again.”   
  
_Fuck me that was hot,_ Akechi’s voice mutters in his head and Akira shoots him a look. Any other time he might have taken him up on the offer but right now he’s still pissed off that anything like this happened in the first place. Futaba’s like a sister and to know that someone nearly hurt her that badly...it’s almost enough to make Akira want to go back and hit Hiro some more.   
  
“Mellow and calm 99% of the time but when he loses it,” Ryuji laughs and pats Akira’s shoulder.   
  
“I-is there any chance he’s gonna…?” Futaba looks over Akira worriedly “I mean he could file an assault charge.”   
  
“Unlikely,” Akechi shrugs “Because then we’d have to tell the police exactly why Akira hit him in the first place and repeated sexual assault looks worse on his record.”   
  
“Even so, Akira already has a record,” Ishida winces “Though it’s been scrapped, that obviously doesn’t matter to the police.”   
  
Akira sighs, he can’t think about this now. They’ve got bigger problems, like keeping Futaba away from Jax for starters but also dealing with that palace before Loki makes another move. The only bright side about any of this is that Minato and Yu are holding down the shadows in the Metaverse - though Akira isn’t sure how long they can do that.   
  
No matter how he looks at it, they’re all running on borrowed time.   
  
“The others will be here after school,” Ryuji says, echoing Akira’s thoughts “We’ll head back in and do as much of the palace as we can.”   
  
“Yeah but if those drinks are there again…” Shiho grimaces “We didn’t get far last time because of that.”   
  
“Is it me or is every palace we face from now on going to be about sex?” Ishida mumbles to himself.   
  
Akechi gets this look on his face, only for a split second and not long enough for anyone but Akira to catch it but for a moment he has the detective look. Like he’s thinking and it’s something he’s been churning over in his mind for awhile.   
  
Akira tries to listen in, only to find that Akechi is actively not thinking about whatever crossed his mind.   
  
He frowns but drops it as the bell chimes.   
  
“Let’s meet up later,” Ryuji suggests “Leave Jax for now, we’ll deal with that shithead later.”   
  
Akechi avoids Akira’s enquiring eyes and walks off to class. Akira frowns but drops it...for now. He’ll get his answers later one way or another.   
  
* * *   
  
“So that’s the place,” Makoto hums as the group stand a safe distance away from the host club. She cranes her head around the corner and watches the hosts walking in through the backdoor to start their shifts “My sister went to a host bar once.”   
  
“Really?” Ryuji perks up, now suddenly interested and amused.   
  
“Not for herself, for work,” Makoto smirks, shooting down all images Ryuji might have had in his head. She turns back to the group “It’s quite a thriving business. Lonely women with expendable cash and there’s no shortage of them in Japan.”   
  
“From what we’ve seen, the type of women who normally go in there have so much money to burn, it doesn’t matter if they spend it on a pretty boy for the night,” Ishida comments.   
  
On cue, everyone looks at Haru who blinks in confusion “....what?”   
  
“Nothing,” Morgana pats her shoulder and smiles at Ann “It’s really good to see you all here. The whole gang is together!”   
  
“I’m still getting used to you,” Ann blinks again at the boy in front of her “I keep expecting a tail or something. Do you still turn into a van?”   
  
Ryuji winces “We don’t really wanna test that,” he turns to Akechi “Anyway, aren’t you working tonight?”   
  
“Not tonight,” Akechi shrugs “Last night I was covering for Ran because Morgana spiked his drink and got him sick. He’s better tonight and it’s not my shift.”   
  
“Wait,” Shiho frowns “Is that okay? Can we still get into the palace with Akechi out here and not in there?”   
  
“It’ll be fine,” Morgana assures them “In Rina’s mind, Akechi has the keys to her palace. So long as he’s there and he’s with us, the gate will open.”   
  
“Keys to her palace…” Ryuji mutters and Ann stomps on his foot.   
  
Yusuke says nothing. He’s deliberately standing as far away from Ryuji as he can and he hadn’t missed the way Ann and Ryuji’s reunion was almost like they’d never been separated.   
  
Beautiful couple indeed.   
  
He glances at the equally silent Akira and offers a small, albeit tired, smile that he knows Akira will understand right away. That is one of the largest reasons he likes the guy. Akira understands a lot without needing to say much. It’s a silent thing that Yusuke deeply appreciates.   
  
“If that’s the case then, shall we go inside and see what we’re dealing with?” Makoto suggests, getting straight to the point as usual “We don’t have long that we can do this as a full group and if this palace presents any initial problems, it would be best to get them out of the way as fast as possible.”   
  
“The faster we do this, the less likely we are to be harmed by Loki,” Akechi nods and rubs his chin as he always does when he’s thinking “Though it would be nice to get some intel on exactly who Loki is.”   
  
“I may be able to-” Futaba begins but is immediately cut off by Ryuji.   
  
“Hell no,” he tells her firmly “You’re not going anywhere near Jax, not after what he almost did to you.”   
  
“Well he’s not likely to do it again after what Akira did to him,” Futaba points out and turns to Akira with a small smile “Thank you for that by the way, are your hands okay?”   
  
Akira shrugs. His knuckles are still a little pink and they sting but it’s nothing he hasn’t handled before. Still, there is the tiny matter that Futaba may be the only person they have available who can contact and handle Jax. Even if not directly, she’s certainly his match online and there’s no doubt in his mind that Jax is connected to Loki - if not with the fake Phantom Thieves themselves. He needs to know who to go after.   
  
He feels something humming in his head and at first he thinks there’s something wrong with him but then he looks over at Akechi and notices the dark look in his eyes. Akira turns back to the group before any of them notice the moment and clears his throat “Let’s go.”   
  
Entering the palace, the large group stop when they come to a familiar ballroom. This time the table in front of them has eleven shotglasses.   
  
One for each of them.   
  
“Ah shit,” Ryuji mutters and goes to try the doors. Just like before, they’re all locked and when he can’t open the last one, he grunts and kicks it in frustration “I’m not taking that shit again!”   
  
“What is it?” Ann asks, picking one up and studying the liquid inside.   
  
“Aphrodisiac,” Ishida answers, albeit reluctantly as he picks his own up “The doors won’t open until we’ve all taken it.”   
  
“Aphrodisiac?!” Makoto chokes, she thinks about it for a moment and nods “That...makes sense.”   
  
That...explains a lot, Akechi mutters in Akira’s mind.   
  
“We don’t have a choice,” Akira decides “If we want to proceed at all, we all have to take the drink.”   
  
“It made us useless last time,” Shiho reminds him tiredly “We had to find a safe room to hide in, we got nothing out of this place.”   
  
The group look over the shotglasses warily and turn to look around at all the closed doors.   
  
“Are we sure there’s no other way?” Ann asks, trying to clarify “No backway, no fences we can jump over.”   
  
“We’ve tried,” Morgana tells her “This is the only way.”   
  
Akechi picks his shotglass up and sighs “The host bar spikes their drinks so this part makes sense. In order to traverse further into Rina’s mind, we need to share her mindset.”   
  
“Which is what?” Ryuji chokes “Being horny all the time?!”   
  
Akechi shoots him a look. “The women who wander into that bar - especially first timers - are terrified of being judged. It is the job of a host to not only make them relax but also relate to them on some level. Right now, we cannot relate to Rina. By drinking this, we will at least relate to her in one common aspect. That is why these drinks are here.”   
  
“Akechi-kun is right,” Makoto winces “As distasteful as the whole thing is. Rina’s mind will naturally be closed off to everyone. Getting in as a host was only one step but in order to go further, we need to be on her level. Even if it is only in this part.”   
  
The rest of them exchange wary looks.   
  
“On three,” Morgana suggests and the group each pick up a shotglass. They form a circle around the table, all of them looking at each other, almost afraid of what the drink was going to do to them.   
  
“One,” Morgana starts “Two…”   
  
“Fuck it,” Ryuji mutters “Three.”   
  
Eleven shotglasses are raised in the air before they drink them all. They place the glasses down and the second they do, they don’t hear the click of the doors as they expected. Instead the ground starts to shake so violently it almost knocks them all off their feet.   
  
“An earthquake?!” Ann gasps.   
  
This didn’t happen last time. Akira looks down and watches the porcelain ground crack before his eyes, caving in right underneath them. He loses his footing and the last thing he feels before the black underneath the ground engulfs him, is Akechi’s hand grabbing his.   
  
* * *   
  
Minato winces and rubs his chest again. He adjusts his headphones on his shoulders and looks up when he hears the door open.   
  
He’s not on the train anymore. Instead he’s in a room he’s more or less claimed as his own since he woke up in this hell and realised he was not getting out. The Metaverse. In all it’s broken splendour and glory. Now a prison for souls and shadows alike, all of them desperate to get out and it’s only thanks to the combined efforts of the former persona users that they’re not succeeding.   
  
It’s not just his group. Yu’s group as well are holding the seal shut. Stopping all shadows - especially Tani - from getting out.   
  
It’s just Minato’s luck that he gets to feel their rage. Some leftover of being a doorstop, he feels the shadows more than any other user before or after him.   
  
Yu walks into the room and shuts the door behind him. He looks around the tiny room and huffs “You know, the Metaverse is not short of abandoned rooms you could use to hide in. Why choose this shithole?”   
  
He picks up a toppled chair and sits down across from Minato who is slumped in his own chair. In front of him is half a desk, the other half has been eaten by god only knows what. He’s learnt not to question anything in the Metaverse.   
  
“I happen to like my shithole,” Minato rubs a small spot on his chest and nods to an old and withered potplant in the corner “I even decorated.”   
  
Yu glances at the potplant and snorts in amusement. He shakes his head and turns back to Minato “Everyone’s ready. They know what this is going to take. If our job is stalling, then we’ll take it in turns to make sure that seal never opens.”   
  
“We won’t be able to do it forever,” Minato points out “Sooner or later, we’re going to run out of energy. All of us. But at the very least, we’ll be able to buy Kurusu some time to figure out what’s going on here and who’s behind it.”   
  
A small look comes over Yu’s face. He watches Minato thoughtfully for a moment before hesitantly voicing his opinion “Elizabeth…” he begins and notices the tense look that appears on Minato’s face “You and Elizabeth.”   
  
“I swore to her never to mention it again,” Minato tells him “And I won’t. I’m not talking about it.”   
  
“Even if you don’t talk about it, it’s pretty obvious what happened,” Yu counters and sits up a little more “She fell in love with you and you knew she wasn’t supposed to. She was Igor’s assistant just like Margaret, they’re off limits for a reason.”   
  
Minato shakes his head, he leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath “Whatever happened. If she is behind what’s going on now….I’m fairly certain she didn’t mean for all of this to happen. She only meant to come after me. To find a way to release me. She found it but in the process she also released….something else,” he turns his eyes to Yu “The best we can do now is hope that Kurusu can stop it.”   
  
“Do you really think he can?” Yu raises an eyebrow “Four generations before him, completely wiped out. His generation may be strong but they’re also the youngest of all of us.”   
  
“We have to try,” Minato looks up when someone knocks on the door again and opens it. He relaxes upon sight of the familiar face “Aigis.”   
  
“Am I interrupting something?” Aigis asks, her thin, mechanical frame entering the room hesitantly as she looks between Minato and Yu.   
  
“No,” Minato shakes his head “Is something wrong?”   
  
Aigis shuffles in a little more and closes the door quietly behind herself. She bows politely to Yu and turns her attention to Minato again “The seal between this world and the real world is fairly strong,” she tells him “It’ll take three of us at a time to hold it shut and even then, we won’t be able to do it longer than three hours at a time.”   
  
“Shifts is a good idea,” Yu shrugs “Start with the three with the most energy and call us when our energy is needed as well…” he hesitates and glances at Minato “Except him.”   
  
Minato looks up “I can help-”   
  
“Whatever happened when you were torn from the seal, it affected you,” Yu points out firmly “You’re way more sensitive to the shadows than us and it won’t be helpful at all if you’re in pain whilst using your energy to hold the seal shut.”   
  
“He’s right,” Aigis pitches in “You’re no use if you collapse whilst helping with the seal. Whatever happened, it’s robbed you of your energy and we need you here anyway. Someone needs to be the leader and make the calls.”   
  
Yu hums, he has no problem with that either. Despite being a leader himself, Minato is older than him and has been doing this longer. Logically that should mean that Minato would know what he’s doing.   
  
Minato nods, reluctantly agreeing and Yu pats his shoulder. He leaves the room and when the door closes again, Minato turns to Aigis.   
  
“Something wrong?” he asks.   
  
Aigis just smiles, a look of pure relief on her face. She shakes her head and for a moment it looks as though she’s about to cry.   
  
“I’m glad you’re back” she tells him “Even if we are where we are….to see your face again…” she sniffs and shakes her head again “It’s more than I could have asked for.”   
  
Minato still feels that same pain in his chest. It’s the shadows, the Tani. They’re angry and they want to get out. They’re punishing the Metaverse - punishing Minato - because of it. Still he gets up and slowly walks over to Aigis, pulling her into a gentle hug.   
  
Aigis wraps her arms around him. She nestles her face in his shoulder and sniffles “Remember what I told you?” she asks “I told you I’d always be there to protect you. I’d always be by your side. I didn’t know…”   
  
“You couldn’t have known,” Minato assures her, he rubs her back and lets her lean against him “It was a nice way to go. I couldn’t have asked for a more gentle death. Lying in your lap, watching the sky...it was peaceful.”   
  
He allows her a moment to gather herself again. Just a moment and when she lifts her face again, he sees a familiar spark of determination and strong willpower he’s always admired in her.   
  
“We won’t let the Tani free to catch Kurusu and the others,” she promises “If this is to be our final battle, then we will go down fighting.”   
  
Minato can’t help but grin. He sees her off and when the door closes behind her, his smile falters and he looks out the window to the destroyed and wrecked world of the Metaverse. He feels his chest again and curses under his breath.   
  
“Elizabeth, where are you?”   
  
* * *   
  
When Akira opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is Akechi’s face hovering over him. His head is aching, his entire body is hot and when he sits up, he realises it’s because of the ever familiar humidity in the room.   
  
He rubs his head and looks around. They’re in a small room and he can’t see the others. He’s alone with Akechi.   
  
“You’ve got to stop doing that to me,” Akechi huffs. His voice is an interesting mixture of annoyed and worried. “Falling, being unconscious, it’s not good for my heartrate.”   
  
“I didn’t make the ground cave in,” Akira mutters and rubs at his head, he looks around “Where are we?”   
  
“We all got separated when the ground caved in,” Akechi gets up again and walks around the room. There’s only one door and Akira notices a bed in the corner. He frowns.   
  
“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Akechi jiggles the doorknob and huffs “We’re stuck in here. If I had to take a guess, I’d say this is one of those rooms the host club doesn’t talk about.”   
  
Akira doesn’t quite follow at first. He stands up gingerly and realises the effects of the drink are still affecting him. He pushes the feeling aside as much as he can and looks around “What rooms?”   
  
“The bedrooms,” Akechi tries the door again and groans when it doesn’t open “The host club doesn’t talk about it and it’s certainly not on the menu but bedrooms are available. Just in case a host is homeless and needs a place to stay...or if a customer wants extra services…”   
  
Akira’s eyes hone in on Akechi’s figure “You didn’t…”   
  
“No I didn’t,” Akechi turns to Akira “But I know they’re there.”   
  
Akira glances at the bed again. He goes to the door and pulls at the doorknob. He jiggles it but it’s locked tight. As one last resort, he slams his hand into the wood and it still doesn’t budge. He turns to the bed and scans the room but there’s nothing else. No grates, no holes, no cameras, nothing. Just a bed and a door.   
  
“Ideas?” he asks, turning to Akechi who has his thoughtful face again. He can hear Akechi’s thoughts but they’re speeding by so fast he can barely catch a word.   
  
“One,” Akechi glances at the bed and turns to Akira “And I must say, I’m not entirely against it either.”   
  
Akira looks at the bed as well and shakes his head “Isn’t that too easy?”   
  
“Some of the best things are,” Akechi shrugs and goes up to Akira. He slips his thin arms around Akira’s waist and kisses the tip of his nose “Besides,” he hums “Dressed up like a Phantom Thief...that’ll be interesting.”   
  
Akira reaches up to remove the crow mask. The pointy part was threatening to poke him in the eyes. He sets it aside and looks into Akechi’s eyes.   
  
“Wanna tell me what you’re hiding?” he asks, wrapping his own arms around Akechi’s shoulders and leaning in “You’re not letting me into your mind. Something happened and you’re actively not thinking about it.”   
  
“Akira, I just took an aphrodisiac,” Akechi reminds him “Right now I’m not thinking about anything but bending you over.”   
  
Akira supposes that’s fair but he can still feel a barrier in the deep recesses of Akechi’s mind and it’s unsettling how the other is actively hiding something from him. He lets Akechi steer him towards the bed and resists the other sitting him down.   
  
“Tell me,” he insists, his hands holding onto Akechi’s shoulders as he remains standing “Something happened. You’re hiding something.”   
  
Akechi gets this look on his face again and Akira can’t read him. Akira can’t hear him either. He’s shutting his mind off, particularly that part.   
  
“Later,” Akechi promises. He leans in and when his lips meet Akira’s, Akira gives in to the effects of the aphrodisiac and lets Akechi push him down onto the bed. Akechi swallows his unease and Akira feels his mind switch off instead as Akechi’s hands find their way underneath his coat. The aphrodisiac and the atmosphere makes them both hot and Akira can’t get out of his phantom suit fast enough.   
  
Maybe he should be a little more worried about where the rest of his team are. Maybe he should be a little more concerned about the fact that this palace is still full of shadows who can kill them - especially if they’re stark naked. Maybe he should be a little more mindful of the fact that they’re here for a reason.   
  
But as the aphrodisiac takes full effect, all Akira can do is pull Akechi closer and steal the air from his lungs.   
  
* * *   
  
This is the worst situation. Literally the worst. The only thing Ryuji can imagine that would actually be worse than this current situation is if he’d woken up and all his clothes were gone.   
  
Even then, that’s still not too far away from the situation he is now in.   
  
Stuck in a locked room with Kitagawa Yusuke. The very same Yusuke who has been haunting his dreams for too long now. The cherry on top really is that they’ve both taken aphrodisiac and neither are immune to its effects.   
  
Ryuji paces the room, his phantom thief outfit too uncomfortable in this hot humidity for him to bear. He pulls at the collar and ignores the artist calmly sitting at the end of the bed.   
  
“Ryuji,” Yusuke finally speaks “Stop pacing. We’re going to get out of here.”   
  
“Easy for you to say,” Ryuji huffs and kicks at the door again “I don’t get you, I don’t get how you can be so calm. We’re stuck in a room, it’s hot, I’m boiling in this outfit and we both just drank a drink we knew damn well was spiked.”   
  
“Which is why you need to be calm,” Yusuke tells him, still annoyingly calm “The only thing pacing around will achieve is making you more anxious.”   
  
He takes his fox mask off and Ryuji tries not to notice the way his blue locks pull a little a the mask before settling gently over his left eye. He feels a sudden urge to touch Yusuke’s hair and starts pacing again because in no way is that normal. Normal dudes don’t go around touching the hair of other dudes, especially if that other dude is his weirdo artist friend.   
  
Yusuke calmly takes a breath and tries to ignore Ryuji’s incessant pacing. In all honesty this situation is horrible for him too. He can feel the aphrodisiac taking over him and if he weren’t so practiced in the skill of self control, he might have lost his nerve immediately. However haunting and seriously confusing the feelings of lust are to him, by now they’re not exactly new feelings.   
  
That is perhaps the one plus side of being haunted by his dreams so long now, he’s practically used to the feeling of lust. However distasteful the feeling really is, the physical consequences leave him sitting down for more than one reason. He only wishes Ryuji had that same restraint.   
  
“How do we get outta here?” Ryuji asks and runs back to slam his foot into the door “This thing is locked tight!”   
  
Yusuke rests his chin on his hand and tries to think about anything but the fact that Sakamoto Ryuji is locked in a room with him like this. It’s some sort of weird torture and the only positive he can come up with at this point is that this straining, aching lust would make for one very graphic painting. “If this palace works like every other palace we’ve ever encountered before, then it’s all about cognition,” Yusuke surmises “Though I’m struggling to think of a reason why we would be trapped in a room together like this. Unless the others are stuck in other rooms in pairs...then…” he pauses and pales when he thinks of one possible reason for this.   
  
Ryuji notices the look on his face and it takes him about a minute to put the pieces together. Lust. Two people. Bed.   
  
“No way,” Ryuji shakes his head and rushes back to the door. He kicks at it some more, bangs on it with his fists and yells in frustration when the door doesn’t give way.   
  
“I’ll take the shadows, I’ll take anything, just get me out of here!” Ryuji yells, hitting the door so hard his hands are bruising “Get us out!”   
  
“Ryuji, stop,” Yusuke begs “You’re hurting yourself.”   
  
“LET ME OUT!” Ryuji screams and kicks at the door “I can’t be in here!”   
  
“Ryuji!” Yusuke raises his voice, trying to get the blonde boy to stop for just a moment.   
  
It doesn’t work, Ryuji bashes at the door but it doesn’t even break. Paying no mind to his own state, Yusuke gets up and stomps over to Ryuji. He grabs his wrists first to stop the boy and Ryuji, panicking when he feels Yusuke’s elegant fingers clasping over his skin, whips around to fight him off.   
  
“Get off me! Don’t touch me!” Ryuji slaps him off “Not while I’m-”   
  
“Ryuji!” Yusuke snaps, still trying to hold the other still “Calm down!”   
  
Ryuji feels his back hit the door and his eyes go wide. Yusuke has a grip on both his wrists, holding him down and staring at him with a combination of surprise and concern. It’s an alarming situation and Ryuji can hear himself screaming in his mind yet he can’t will himself to move an inch.   
  
Yusuke is still a little taller than him and his body is so slim pressed up against his own. He’s so tiny he looks like he could break in the wind and yet the way he’s holding Ryuji’s wrists still betray how he’s surprisingly strong. His eyes are deep, his hair is too close and despite everything, he smells wonderful.   
  
“Yusuke,” Ryuji says, just barely gathering his manly pride enough to keep himself from pleading “Let go.”   
  
* * *   
  
Sitting on the end of the bed in another room, Morgana squirms and tries to do as Ishida told him to do last time: think of cold showers. Think of waterfalls. Think of earwax.   
  
Do anything but think of the fact that he’s locked in a room with Lady Ann who is sitting on the other side of the bed watching him worriedly.   
  
“I had a cat once,” Ann tells him and Morgana sighs.   
  
“I’m not a cat,” he reminds her “Not now and I wasn’t one back then either.”   
  
“I know that,” Ann assures him “But my cat, she was a girl and she was white. She had these….seasons...I suppose they call them seasons...the mating season…”   
  
Morgana closes his eyes tight and presses his knees together. It’s one thing to be stuck in a room with a beautiful girl. Quite another to present himself as a drooling, lustful idiot who has no control over his own body. Damn that aphrodisiac.   
  
“Well...cats, when they want to mate, the female rolls around on the ground, she lets off all these pheromones until all the male cats come to her,” Ann explains and Morgana wishes she’d chosen another topic to talk about. Not that the thought of cats getting it on works for him per say but he’d rather talk about anything else.   
  
“Then they bite her neck to hold her still, climb on top of her and...uh…” Ann goes a little pink and winces at Morgana “Sorry. I can talk about something else?”   
  
“Please,” Morgana begs, he takes a deep breath and turns his head to look at her “And I’m not a cat.”   
  
“Of course you’re not,” Ann assures him “Anyway um….what to talk about. Oh! Did you know that Ben and Jerry, the creators of that ice cream, learnt how to make icecream from a $5 course? Apparently they just took the idea from there and ran for it.”   
  
“Ben and Jerry’s?” Morgana looks up in confusion and Ann almost looks completely shocked.   
  
“Ice cream,” she tells him “Famous ice cream, have you never had it?!”   
  
Morgana shrugs. He had ice cream with Akira once but he wasn’t sure if that was exactly Ben and Jerry’s. There’s a lot about being a human he’s still learning and he feels ill equipped for the whole ordeal. Texting, cleaning, living like a general human being. After one whole year of watching Akira do it, he hadn’t thought it would be this hard but it is. It doesn’t help at all that Akira just never seems to be around either.   
  
“Well when we get out of here, I’m buying you Ben and Jerry’s,” Ann promises him.   
  
Morgana smiles a little. He feels better with her around and it’s probably one of the most endearing parts about Ann. She’s just so warm, open, calming. She’s also beautiful, possibly the most beautiful creature Morgana had ever laid his eyes on. But it’s working, her talking about ice cream and other things is working. He can feel himself calming down.   
  
“How about school?” he asks curiously and shuffles a little “How’s it been without us?”   
  
“Lonely, admittedly,” Ann smiles sadly “I had so much fun last year with all of you, to think none of you are here now. I mean Yusuke is still around but he’s not in my school. Makoto and Haru have university and Mishima only wants to talk about the Phantom Thieves. Which is great but not exactly...friend material? Someone I can just chill with and relax and sometimes even forget about the Phantom Thieves.”   
  
Morgana gets her. He understands more than most what it’s like to just want to be normal like that. They work and their work is important. They change the hearts of monsters like Rina. But they also are human - him too now - and they can’t be on all the time. It’s not good for anyone.   
  
“When Rise appeared, I really thought I had finally made a new friend,” Ann continues “Someone who would just be there. Who would get me the way Shiho did. I thought she didn’t have anything to do with the Metaverse but…”   
  
Morgana reaches out. He pats her knee comfortingly “Would you have looked at Rise any differently if you’d known she knew about the Metaverse?”   
  
Ann blinks at him. Her eyes avert as she thinks it over and eventually shakes her head.   
  
“I loved her,” she admits “She was...she had this really magnetic charm to her. Drew people in. She was popular for several reasons, not just because she was an idol. She just got me, she understood everything about me. I haven’t felt that since Akira.”   
  
Morgana understands her there too. But nobody needs to explain that Akira understands a lot without saying much. He’d made the effort to not only help and get to know his teammates and friends, but he’d also come to understand each and every single one of them. Morgana can’t even imagine what it must be like for Ann, to have her friends all taken away at relatively the same time and then to lose her new friend afterwards.   
  
“Hey,” he smiles at her “You know we’re always here for you right? We may not be in Tokyo with you, but if you ever need us, we will come to you. Always.”   
  
Ann has this teary look in her eyes. Even on the verge of tears, she’s beautiful. She leans in and presses a grateful kiss to Morgana’s forehead. It warms his entire body but in a different way to what the aphrodisiac had been doing. It’s just warm, calm. Beautiful like her.   
  
They smile at each other for a moment before Ann remembers something “Um...are you feeling better?”   
  
Morgana nods, he can feel the effects of the drink ebbing away and when they do, they both hear the door click in response.   
  
“Oh good,” Ann sighs and leaps off the bed “Come on, let’s go find the others.”   
  
Morgana follows her out with a lovesick look on his face - this time not caused by the drug.   
  
“Lady Ann…”   
  
* * *   
  
“Turns out, the cure to being released from the room is by erasing the effect of the aphrodisiac,” Makoto says when most of the group meet back up at the entrance. She’d been paired with Haru and it hadn’t taken either of them long to get their minds on other things. Futaba had been with Shiho and they’d found Ann and Morgana in the hallway. Ishida had been alone and when they’d found the poor boy, he refused to tell them how he managed to get rid of the aphrodisiac effects.   
  
“Where are the others?” Haru asks “They must still be locked in their rooms.”   
  
“I imagine it’s harder for boys,” Shiho mutters and Ishida winces.   
  
“Nice choice of words,” he grumbles and folds his arms “We should wait for them. They’ll get out eventually.”   
  
“They may be in danger,” Makoto says “That’s just as likely. I’m going to go look for our leader.”   
  
“I’ll come with you,” Ann follows behind her “I’m worried about Skull. If he got stuck in a room with any one of the others while he’s in that state…”   
  
Ishida leans against the table and folds his arms. He huffs to himself “Just as well I was alone…”   
  
Ann and Makoto head off together down the hallway they’d come from. Turns out, the rooms they were in are located in the floor just underneath and when they’d returned, the floor to the entrance hall looked just as before.   
  
“What’s the point?” Ann asks as she keeps a weather eye out for shadows “Locking us all in that room?”   
  
“To figure that out would mean to understand the way Rina functions on a very intimate level,” Makoto shrugs and checks around the corner. “And to be honest, with the humidity and the fact that everything about this palace is just wrong to me, I don’t even want to try understanding why her mind threw us in a room clearly used for sex.”   
  
“Well it IS a host club…” Ann supposes “I mean I know there’s rumours about the ‘special rooms’ but I never thought…”   
  
Makoto smiles at her. She hadn’t thought that was going to be a thing either. They just need to find the others and get this palace over with. Find the treasure, warn Rina and go in to take it from her and force her heart to change.   
  
With any luck, Rina won’t die like Minagawa did. But that depends entirely on the fake Phantom Thieves. Just the thought that they don’t have any power over that, pisses Makoto off.   
  
They come to the end of the hallway and find it branches out in two separate directions. Ann and Makoto look down both hallways. They both look the same. Long, endless hallways with closed doors.   
  
Makoto huffs “At this rate, we’re never going to find them.”   
  
“Maybe we should split up,” Ann suggests “It’ll cover more ground.”   
  
“It’s still dangerous,” Makoto points out but she can’t argue the idea at least has the merit of cutting time in half. At this point, time is the one thing they do not have on their side considering how half of them must return to Tokyo before Monday.   
  
“Okay,” she finally decides and points to their right “Panther, you go that way. I’ll take the left. If you come across any shadows, only take them on if you feel you’ll win.”   
  
“It’ll be fine,” Ann promises her “We’ll meet back in the saferoom with the others in ten. By then, we should all be ready to end this.”   
  
Makoto cannot agree more. She’s very ready to end this nightmare of a palace. Although she knows damn well that ending this palace is not likely to be the end of their job - not with Loki controlling them - but at the very least, they can put one monster behind bars.   
  
Ann heads off in her direction. As she walks, she keeps a steady eye on her surroundings to ensure no one’s going to jump her or attack. What she finds most interesting about this palace in particular is how little she’s felt the presence of shadows. They’re there - no doubt - but they’re not as active and that confuses her.   
  
When she was in every other palace before this one, there were always shadows. Figments of the mind, designed to protect the distorted world of the ruler. They were there to protect and serve their master.   
  
This place lacked the shadows she expected to see at every corner and she couldn’t tell if it was because they were just in the wrong area of the palace or if there was another explanation. Probably one Futaba, Akechi and Makoto would understand long before anyone else.   
  
After about five minutes of walking, Ann finally hears a noise. Muffled but her ears recognise the voice immediately as belonging to Ryuji. It sounds like a grunt. Perking up, Ann looks down the hallway and starts walking towards the voice.   
  
“Skull?” she calls.   
  
Another voice. Yusuke. Ann picks up her pace, speedwalking down the hall, following the voices until she stops in front of the right door. She can hear Ryuji on the other side, he’s talking but she can’t hear what he’s saying.   
  
Mindful of the fact that they’re in a palace where everyone took an aphrodisiac, Ann knocks and listens as she hears Ryuji swear. She can’t help but smile to herself. Ryuji never changes.   
  
“I’m coming in,” she calls and pulls at the latch. It gives way easily and she opens the door to find Ryuji on one end of the room looking flustered and red faced. Yusuke is sitting on the other end. They both look up and Ryuji is the first to react.   
  
“Oh thank fuck,” he runs to Ann and almost bowls her over with how hard he hugs her “That door was fucking locked.”   
  
“Not on the outside,” Ann chuckles, she hugs Ryuji back and looks over his shoulder at Yusuke “Are you guys alright?”   
  
“We are now that you’re here,” Yusuke smiles in relief. He gets up and dusts himself off “Let’s get out of this wretched room. I can feel the depravity seeping into my soul.”   
  
“Dude who even says that?” Ryuji pulls back from Ann and looks over his shoulder at the artist. He turns back to Ann and happily walks out of the door into the hallway “Where are the others?”   
  
“Most of us are back at the saferoom,” Ann tells him, watching as Yusuke leaves the room as well and follows them silently.   
  
“Joker?” Ryuji questions and Ann shrugs.   
  
“Hopefully, Queen finds him.”   
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway to the right, Akechi grins as he runs a hand down Akira’s back. He feels the leather of the Joker’s coat and appreciates the way Akira’s gloved fingers clutch at the sheets he’s bending over. Chuckling to himself, Akechi thrusts into Akira’s body and relishes in the sound the other makes.   
  
“I knew this would be a turn on,” he laughs and holds Akira’s hips “Fucking the Joker in his leather coat. It’s almost cathartic.”   
  
He thrusts again and Akira holds back a moan. His knees are shaking where he’s bent over on his hands and knees on the bed and the only thing that stops him from flipping this over and pushing Akechi on his back is the distinct knowledge that in some strange way, doing it like this - when they’re both dressed as Phantom Thieves - is a massive hidden turn on for Akechi.   
  
He wonders if Akechi had been thinking about this back at the casino when they first started working together and Akechi laughs when he hears his thoughts.   
  
“Do you want me to lie to you?” he asks sweetly.   
  
He thrusts again and Akira can’t help the moan he makes into the mattress. He pants and shakes his head. Akechi then pulls out, turns him around and shoves Akira onto his back. The joker watches as Akechi climbs on top of him and slides in again, causing all the breath to leave Akira’s lungs in one exhale.   
  
If the point of this castle was to get everyone to start having sex, he and Akechi are certainly achieving that particular goal.   
  
Akira’s red gloves come up to hold Akechi’s shoulders, he pants as the other thrusts in again and looks in his eyes.   
  
“What were you thinking? At the casino?” he asks.   
  
Granted, Akechi had seen him in action long before the casino when he actually joined them. Akechi had probably seen it right back from the start when he’d taken it upon himself to mess with the palaces and ultimately frame the Phantom Thieves for it. But Akira couldn’t help but wonder how long this mindless attraction had been around between the two of them.   
  
For him, it started the second he saw Akechi in the TV studio. His stupid question about pancakes was both idiotic (because he gave himself away) and disarmingly adorable. For someone who prided himself on his intelligence and logical thinking, that was a very stupid move on his part and Akira found it cute.   
  
“I was thinking,” Akechi breaths as he leans over Akira, hitting that spot that drives him insane “About how long it would take before I’d kill you. How I’d do it. The look on your face.”   
  
Akira’s fingers tighten on Akechi’s shoulders and his body is starting to shake, he can barely focus but he keeps his eyes determinedly on Akechi.   
  
“And?” he pants “Did the thought of killing me turn you on?”   
  
Akechi’s eyes darken, he leans in, his hips still thrusting as his lips gently touch Akira’s ear. Akira shivers at the warm breath on his earlobe and Akechi’s almost sinister voice taking over his senses.   
  
“More than you know.”   
  
Akira’s entire body stiffens and releases like a shotgun. A helpless groan escaping his lips as he distantly feels Akechi taking his body with full, fast thrusts and following after him with a restrained yell.   
  
They slump on the bed, panting so hard into each other’s shoulders, hands clinging, arms holding the other so close not even air can pass between them. Akechi kisses Akira’s ear, he makes no move to pull out of the other and instead whispers “I’ll have you know, that was the old me. New me likes you breathing. Living.”   
  
Despite himself, Akira starts laughing. His body shakes underneath Akechi’s as he holds the other close and presses a kiss to his cheek.   
  
“Well I’m glad for that,” he chuckles.   
  
They’re a mess but they cling to each other and they must be quite the sight when Makoto opens the door and sees them both on the bed, pants pulled down to their ankles, Akechi buried between Akira’s legs and both of them mostly still dressed above the waist. They look up and Akira’s eyes widen. Akechi just smiles.   
  
“Oh good,” he grins, the shameless amusement just dripping from his tone “We’re saved.”   
  
* * *   
  
Makoto doesn’t talk to them at all when they regroup. She doesn’t say a word as Akira meets back with the rest of his team and decides no one wants to talk about the aphrodisiac or the fact that they were all split up. He dusts down his jacket and clears his throat “Navi, how are we looking?”   
  
“I have good news,” Futaba pipes up “That little trip we took, actually got us through a fair amount of the palace. If the senses are right, the treasure is located somewhere in the east tower. That’s the highest point of this palace. By falling and landing god knows where, we’ve moved from the entrance to the eastern side of the palace. All we need to do is find our way up.”   
  
The others look relieved. Nobody wants to stick around this place. Not when the humidity is already making it unbearable. None - save perhaps Akechi and Akira - were fans of the aphrodisiac either.   
  
Ishida clears his throat “Can we just not talk about what happened?”   
  
“I’m for that,” Ryuji quickly agrees with a wary look at Yusuke who nods.   
  
“Agreed,” the artist mutters.   
  
Makoto can’t look at either Akechi or Akira and Morgana still looks disturbed but stays comfortably near Ann.   
  
“That way,” Futaba points down the east hall “Keep going up.”   
  
Akira nods and takes a deep breath “Skull, Queen, Mona, back me up.”   
  
Akira...Akechi’s annoyed voice hisses in his head. Not again.   
  
Akira ignores him and watches as Makoto looks away and looks down “U-um,” she stammers “Joker, I think...given the circumstances, I may be most useful in the back and not in the front this time. Just this time.”   
  
“What circumstances?” Haru asks, large eyes watching curiously behind her eye mask.   
  
Makoto doesn’t answer. Makoto can’t answer.   
  
Akira watches her carefully but her face is bright red under the mask and she can’t return his gaze. He nods and shrugs “Okay, Panther?”   
  
Akira! Akechi hisses again and Akira ignores him. The truth is that this palace being so placid and seemingly safe puts him on edge. At least when he knew where the shadows were, he knew when he was going to be attacked.   
  
This is different. He can’t feel anything, he can’t feel anyone around and that is terrifying. Either there really is nothing protecting the palace here, or they’re all ten times more dangerous than he’s ever encountered before.   
  
After all, Loki had sent them here and it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to send them to an adversary that may actually be too much for them to handle. He literally cannot guess or fathom anything that is about to happen and he’d really rather Akechi wasn’t right next to him.   
  
Especially when he knows Akechi is keeping something from him.   
  
He walks ahead, followed by Ryuji, Ann and Morgana. There’s a sense of strange security and safety in their presence. His original crew….granted Morgana being human shakes it up a little but it’s still slightly comforting.   
  
When they’re out of earshot of the others, Ann places a hand on his shoulder “Joker, are you alright?” she asks.   
  
It’s not surprising she’s the one that caught on that something was up. That’s just how Ann is sometimes and Akira appreciates that about her.   
  
He misses her.   
  
“I’m fine,” he assures her “It’s just...I can’t feel anything. It’s wrong.”   
  
“Tell me about it,” Ryuji huffs and folds his arms “This silence is killing me. At least when the shadows stomped around the corridors, we knew exactly where they were.”   
  
A thoughtful look appears on Morgana’s face and Akira looks at him “Mona?”   
  
“There are no instances where a palace doesn’t have shadows,” Morgana states “That just doesn’t happen. All palaces are the cognitive setting of the distorted desires of the palace ruler. All palace rulers know - somewhere in the back of their minds - that they’re in the wrong. That they’re hurting others and stomping on people to get what they want and they know it’s wrong. To justify things to themselves and protect their own desires, to help them not feel like a bad person, they create the shadows in their minds. These shadows protect them from coming to the realisation that they are wrong. They stop them from people like us - who specifically come to steal their hearts but also to force them to realise what they’ve been doing.”   
  
“So...a palace without shadows?” Ann frowns in confusion.   
  
“Exactly,” Morgana looks at her “It doesn’t happen. It can’t happen. It’s impossible. For Rina to not have shadows is just….it doesn’t make any sense. Surely she knows she’s doing something wrong. Keeping Ran from school and keeping him as her personal pet. Without shadows to protect her, she should know what she’s doing is wrong and not be able to live with herself. It doesn’t make sense.”   
  
“Unless she doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong,” Akira points out, he folds his arms and looks at the three of them “If a shadow prevents the ruler from admitting what they’re doing is wrong - and Rina doesn’t have any need for a shadow - doesn’t that mean she doesn’t think she’s actually doing anything wrong?”   
  
“But she has a palace,” Ryuji points out “And in no way is her fucking an underage guy and keeping him in that place, alright. That’s just wrong.”   
  
Ann looks troubled and Akira can practically hear her thinking over the moralities of it. They’ve gone over this before however. Rina is guilty of being in charge of Ran. She appeared to have fallen in love with him and took advantage of her position as his social worker to keep him in a host bar.   
  
Whether he chose to be there or not is slightly irrelevant given that he is underage.   
  
“There were shadows here before,” Ryuji points out with an annoyed huff “The first day we got here.”   
  
“Yes,” Morgana nods “Which is why I’m not sure why there are none here today. And why we got split up earlier-”   
  
“I’m never talking about that again,” Ryuji cuts him off and he’s never been more thankful for the mask on his face covering how red his cheeks got at the reminder. He clears his throat and turns to Akira “What do we do?”   
  
Akira shrugs “We keep going. Keep our eyes out for shadows and head to the treasure.”   
  
None of them feel at ease but they press on towards the East Tower.   
  
\-   
  
Sitting in the IT room, Takeshi pauses for a moment and flicks his eyes over to the head of the club lounging in his seat. Hiro hadn’t mentioned anything about that incident with Futaba and the girl herself hadn’t come back to the club ever since. He does like the black eye that Hiro has on his face - whoever got to him, beat him up really good. The others had asked questions about the bruises of course but he’d flicked it off, stating the other guy was much worse off.   
  
Which is bullshit considering Hiro’s fists are free of bruises. Someone came and beat the shit out of him. Someone who, in Takeshi’s opinion, needs a medal.   
  
Takeshi couldn’t blame Futaba for disappearing of course. No one would want to return to a club where they’ve been molested but still Takeshi can’t help but feel a small sense of disappointment at her disappearance. She’d only been there a day but he’d been hopeful his club would finally have someone who wasn’t controlled by testosterone.   
  
This club was a hopeless sausage fest.   
  
He glances back at his computer screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard. He can hear Taro muttering something to himself about takoyaki. At the back of the class, Junichi is hunched down at the computer desk. For all intents and purposes he appears to be doing his homework but Takeshi can hear the Hatsune Miku video quietly coming out of his headphones.   
  
Hiro, the source of most problems, is at the front of the class. Lounging back on his computer chair and observing something on his screen.   
  
Takeshi knows exactly what he’s looking at too. He’d taken the liberty of hacking into his browser history and found an abnormal amount of porn.   
  
How this kid hasn’t been thrown out of school already is not exactly beyond Takeshi given that he knows Hiro’s father donates large amounts of money to the school. So they overlook a lot of what his shithead son does.   
  
“I was lookin’ forward to it too,” Taro complains, lazy Osaka accent colouring his speech as he finally looks up from his screen “We finally had a girl in the club...where’d she go?”   
  
Hiro shrugs and pretends he didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance “You know how chicks are,” he drawls “Wishy washy. Guess she decided to join another club like the cheerleading club.”   
  
Takeshi grits his teeth and tries not to glare at Hiro. Instead his fingers are flying faster across the keyboard.   
  
“Women are a mystery,” Junichi states with a disapproving sniff “The weaker sex certainly could learn a lot more if they stopped looking at their cellphones and worrying about their hair.”   
  
Takeshi rolls his eyes. He’ll deal with Junichi later but the main problem, the bane of this club, is Hiro himself. The school is never going to throw him out. His father is a valuable asset to them and they already know - and have covered up - at least three rape accusations on the school grounds.   
  
Takeshi had taken Futaba home after the incident and he knows she’s not coming back here so long as Hiro is there. So the solution - actually - is heinously simple: Get rid of Hiro.   
  
He’d been boiling a plan to do so for the last couple of weeks but after seeing what Hiro did to Futaba, Takeshi decided he’d need to speed it up a little bit. After all, if this club had any hope of getting Futaba back, they’d need to trade her for Hiro and Takeshi was more than willing to make that trade.   
  
Anything to get that shit-for-brains, steroid-pumped, moron out of his club.   
  
“You would say women are a mystery,” Taro teases as he turns around to look at the diligent Junichi in the back of the room “Are you sure you ain’t gay, dude? Have you ever even had a girlfriend?”   
  
Junichi looks up, offended “Of course I have.”   
  
Taro laughs “Who? Your digital girlfriend who lives on your screen?”   
  
“What we have is real!” Junichi insists angrily “And I don’t see you surrounded by women so you’re not one to talk!”   
  
Taro rolls his eyes and glances at the desk Futaba had been at. He clicks his tongue in irritation “She was kinda cute too…”   
  
“Cheer up, Taro,” Hiro grins “If you ask me nicely, I can introduce you to some girls. Cuter girls.”   
  
Taro levels him with a skeptical look for a moment but eventually shrugs “Sure dude, I’m game.”   
  
Takeshi hates the grin on Hiro’s face. He types in the last few lines of code and quickly finishes it up. Just as he does, a notification sound comes from Hiro’s phone. Takeshi pretends not to notice as Hiro picks his phone up and reads the message, his eyes steadily growing wide.   
  
Taro notices and looks up “What’s up?”   
  
“I…” Hiro stands up and leans down to grab his bag “I gotta go….”   
  
Takeshi opens a game of solitaire and out of the corner of his eyes, he keeps a steady eye on Hiro’s movements.   
  
“What was that?” Taro badgers him “Go where? Who messaged you just now?”   
  
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Hiro teases with a wide grin “Anyway, I think I’ll be gone a couple of days. Junichi, you’re in charge of the club while I’m gone.”   
  
Junichi makes a non-committal sound as Hiro practically flies out of the door. When he’s gone, Taro turns to Takeshi.   
  
“Dude...what was that about?”   
  
Takeshi shrugs, he lines the cards up and starts playing Solitaire. He feels a lot better now. Hiro won’t be back for awhile and that puts him at ease.   
  
He opens up a messenger app and finds Futaba’s name on the school records. He sends her a quick message and returns to his game, completely relaxed now that Hiro has been taken care of.   
  
_‘Sakura-san. I don’t know if you remember me but I’m Matsuyama Takeshi from the IT club. I’m pleased to tell you that our club leader, Hiro, will be gone for quite awhile and now our club only has three people in it. If you’re still interested, we’d love for you to come back and join us._  
  
 _Sincerely, Takeshi.’_   
  
\-   
  
“Stop.”   
  
Futaba’s voice halts Akira at the bottom of the east tower. They made their way - unusually easily - through the courtyard of the palace and are now right at the bottom of the tower. A spiral set of stairs lead them up an almost dizzying height to what Akira can only assume is the treasure.   
  
By the way Morgana’s twitching, the former-cat can feel it.   
  
Ryuji glances behind them and looks up the tower. It’s a horribly long way up. “What’s up Navi? Are you picking something up?”   
  
No answer. Akira glances at Ann and frowns “Navi?”   
  
“No,” Futaba replies “Nothing. I can’t sense anything. This is weird.”   
  
“Maybe it’s good,” Ann suggests and glances at the staircase “By the looks of this, we only have to go all the way up to the top of the tower. If there’s nothing in our way, it should be a straight shoot up.”   
  
“I can feel it,” Morgana looks up, his nose twitching slightly. Akira can’t help but be reminded that although this living, breathing boy next to him is undoubtedly human - he has some irreversible cat-like habits.   
  
“Guys that is a spiral staircase that leads all the way up to the top,” Futaba’s voice rings in their ears “But if there are any enemies, if there’s anything in hiding, you have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. If something comes out and attacks you, you are literally fucked.”   
  
Ryuji winces “Maybe not literally…”   
  
“Given the pattern of lust palaces we’ve been encountering…” Futaba counters with a teasing tone “Maybe literally.”   
  
“Dude…”   
  
“So what should we do?” Akira walks a little deeper into the tower floor and looks up. He can see a landing but it’s very high up. This spiral staircase has no bannister, nothing to stop a very long fall. Futaba’s right, if something is up there, they have nowhere to go.   
  
“I can’t sense anything,” Morgana says, walking up to Akira’s side. He looks up as well and frowns “I can only sense the treasure. If there are shadows up there….they’re either extremely weak or…”   
  
“Or?” Ann prompts.   
  
Morgana shakes his head “No, that’s actually the only option. If there is a shadow up there, it’s weak. So weak it’s not alerting any of the senses. A strong shadow is easy to sense, there’s nothing up there.”   
  
Futaba falls silent and Akira checks their area once more. There’s really nothing here and as unnerving as it is, he is almost certain they’re not going to run into anything up there. Only the cloudy substance of the treasure Morgana can sense.   
  
“Navi?” he says, his eyes studying the stairs “We’re going up.”   
  
“Be careful,” Futaba warns “I don’t like anything about this. We haven’t seen a single shadow since we’ve come in here and that’s just...it’s breaking my brain.”   
  
Akira glances at the others and heads to the bottom of the stairs. They start running up, Akira at the head with Ryuji, Morgana and Ann close behind him. As his legs sprint, he can feel the humidity soaking his body underneath the phantom suit he wears. The air is stifling and it only gets hotter the higher they get.   
  
They’re about six floors up, at least, when Morgana starts panting.   
  
“Oh my god,” Morgana stops and leans over, his hands on his knees as he pants “Stop! Stop, I can’t breathe…”   
  
Ann pants as well, she leans against the brick wall of the tower and Akira turns around to see Ryuji isn’t doing too well either. He looks up. They still have a way to go but it feels like they’re climbing into an oven. The air is stifling.   
  
“Fuck this shit,” Ryuji starts pulling at his clothes “I can’t fuckin’ breathe in this.”   
  
Morgana’s eyes widen as Ryuji starts pulling his clothes off “What are you gonna do?! Run up there naked?!”   
  
“At least I’ll be able to breathe,” Ryuji mutters, his jacket falling to the stairs with a heavy clunk, followed quickly by his belt.   
  
Akira looks at him and takes off his own coat as well. Ann backs up against the wall “I-I can’t take this off!” she exclaims, her arms instinctively going over her chest as the red leather of her catsuit clings to her skin “There’s nothing under here!”   
  
“Stay here then,” Ryuji pulls his shirt off to reveal a white tank top underneath. He keeps his pants and boots on but he feels infinitely better as the shirt falls to the floor.   
  
Akira pulls his shirt off as well, a simple black tank top underneath. He lets his clothes join Ryuji’s and it does feel better to get some airflow to his skin. Albeit warm air.   
  
Morgana glances at Ann “Do you want me to stay here with you?” he asks carefully “I can. I don’t mind staying with you.”   
  
Ann shakes her head “No, you should head up too,” she tells him “If there’s something up there, I don’t trust those two to take care of themselves.”   
  
“Oy!” Ryuji looks at her, offended “We’ll be fine! We’ve kicked ass before!”   
  
Still Morgana nods and pulls at the yellow scarf over his neck. He strips himself down as much as he can. Ridding himself of his coat and shirt until he’s down to his pants, shoes and a light shirt. Ann takes their clothes and looks up “Good luck guys, just get the route and get the hell out of here alright?”   
  
Akira nods, he turns to Ryuji and Morgana “Let’s go.”   
  
The air gets heavier and heavier the higher they run. Once they reach the second to last landing, Akira can feel himself soaking with sweat and he knows Morgana and Ryuji are the same. They can barely breathe, even going naked wouldn’t be enough.   
  
They finally reach the top, all of them out of breath and panting but when they look up - there it is. The treasure, a blurry cloud sitting perfectly in the middle of the top landing. With no guards. No shadows. Only a note lying in the middle of the ground.   
  
‘Took the liberty of clearing the palace for you   
“Fucking bastard!” Ryuji hisses after he reads the note “HE’S the one who split us up!? Is he also the one who put the fucking aphrodisiac there?!”   
  
“That...explains a lot…” Morgana frowns and looks over the blurry treasure “But why the hell would he go to all that trouble to clear the palace and have us change her heart? Why can’t he do that himself?”   
  
Akira looks over the note. Nothing about it makes sense. He pockets it and heads over to the treasure, blurry and cloudy though it is.   
  
“Fine,” he sighs “We have a route. Let’s send the calling card tomorrow.”   
  
“Agreed,” Ryuji pants “Let’s get the fuck out of here. I hate this place.”   
  
“Wait,” Morgana’s eyes widen “There’s one thing missing from this palace. No shadows but where’s the ruler? Where’s Rina??”   
  
Ryuji stops, his eyes widening as he realises the same thing “Shit!”   
  
Akira looks at the treasure. Whenever they’ve been in other palaces, the ruler has always made their presence known. Whether it be in person or by voice, they’ve always let it be known that they’re there and they don’t approve of the presence of the Phantom Thieves.   
  
Rina has not only been silent, she isn’t there.   
  
“Let’s get out of here,” Akira suggests “Whatever happened to her, we’ll find out tomorrow when the calling card raises her guard. Chances are, we’ll have a fight on our hands tomorrow.”   
  
Ryuji groans “Never thought I’d actually want a palace to be crawling with shadows…”   
  
“Let’s go,” Akira leads the way back down and his mind is thinking over a million things at the same time. Everything about this palace bothers him. Everything about them being sent by Loki bothers him. Everything about whatever Akechi is keeping from him, bothers him.   
  
Something is really, really wrong.   
  
\-   
  
When the group finally get out of the Metaverse, they’re almost thankful for the near-summer air that greets them in the real world. They regroup again in a hotel Haru has paid for and make use of the large suite bedroom she’s bought for all of them.   
  
“Fuuuuck a good shower was just what I needed,” Ryuji sighs as he comes out from his turn in the bathroom and goes to sit on the sofa next to Ann. He has a towel draped over his shoulders and he’s happily dressed back in his defiant red school shirt and black pants.   
  
Akira sits on the other couch, his hair damp from the shower. His mind is still thinking over the reality of their situation and he doesn’t even notice the wary glances Makoto shoots him every now and then.   
  
“Everyone, good job today,” Haru tries to cheer them all up “Although this palace was weird, we did accomplish the basic mission - we have a way to the treasure.”   
  
“Only thanks to Loki takin’ out all the shadows,” Ryuji points out with a huff “The fuck is up with that guy? He threatens us, sends us after Rina and then clears the palace for us?”   
  
“Perhaps he really wanted to make sure we got to the treasure,” Makoto runs a hand through her hair and looks down “But it still makes little sense. Loki is very hard to read, we don’t know what he wants.”   
  
“I can think of one thing,” Akechi pipes up where he’s sitting next to Akira “”But I have no proof or base for my speculations so it’s simply a thought.”   
  
“Go ahead,” Shiho nods “Anything would be better than nothing.”   
  
“This Loki probably has more knowledge of how the new Metaverse works than we do,” Akechi speaks and Akira can feel his mind humming along with his train of thought. Akechi really is a logical creature.   
  
“He knows a lot we don’t know. But we are still able to get in there and do what you guys had been doing last year. If Loki is in charge of the fake Phantom Thieves - and I think he is - then we’re a threat to him. More than that, we’re a rival. He’s taking the name of the Phantom Thieves and likening it to the murder of palace rulers-”   
  
“Which you don’t exactly disapprove of,” Makoto points out with a sharp look “You were all for killing Minagawa for his crimes when stealing his heart and making him face what he’d done would have been enough.”   
  
“I stand by it,” Akechi looks up “These people are monsters. Minagawa was a monster. He molested and raped his own son and when he couldn’t anymore, he went after boys who looked like him like Ishida.”   
  
Ishida shrinks a little in his seat and looks down “Yes,” he mutters “But I didn’t want him to die. Just having him realise what he’d done - atone for his crimes - would have been enough.”   
  
“People don’t change that easily,” Akechi retorts with a small frown “Even if you change their hearts. They lose their distorted desires and come to grips with what they’ve done, sure, but that relies on the person in question having an understanding between right and wrong to begin with. What Rina is doing is taking advantage of her position to keep an underage boy in one spot so she can have him to herself. He can’t run, he can’t tell anyone because of the power she has over him. She’s a monster too.”   
  
The others fall silent for a moment. Akira takes a deep breath and shakes his head. He doesn’t agree. Death isn’t the answer and it never was. When he first found out that stealing Kamoshida’s treasure could have led to his mental shut down and eventual death, it had stopped him in his tracks. Him and Ryuji. They didn’t want to kill him and neither thought he needed to die for his crimes.   
  
Ann hadn’t thought so either. Nobody thought so. Except Akechi.   
  
“We’re not the ones who should decide who lives and dies,” Yusuke finally points out calmly “All we can do is force the ruler of the palace to face what they’ve done and atone for it. It’s not for us to decide that they should die because of it.”   
  
“Yeah,” Ryuji agrees and lifts his gaze to look at Akechi “And anyway, we’re doing exactly what we’ve been doin’. We’ll send the calling card out to her tomorrow, go into the palace, steal her treasure and then…”   
  
An uncomfortable feeling falls over the group. They know Rina’s in danger. Even if they succeed in stealing her treasure, there is a very real threat that someone is going to come for her afterwards - just like with Minagawa.   
  
Akira glances at Akechi for a moment and turns to look at Makoto. She still can’t look at either of them properly, especially him.   
  
“Yusuke, Morgana,” Akira finally speaks “Can you two work on the calling card? Yusuke designs it, Morgana gets it to Rina.”   
  
They nod and Akira takes a breath “Let’s leave this for the night. We need to get this done before we have a chance at figuring out what Loki is doing or who he even is. Everyone get some rest tonight, tomorrow...we don’t know what we’re facing.”   
  
They disperse. Akira stays with Morgana in Yusuke’s room for awhile to work on the calling card. Ishida, Shiho, Akechi and Futaba head back home whilst Makoto and Haru go back to their rooms. Ryuji follows Ann back to her room, sighing tiredly when he closes the door behind himself and sits on her bed.   
  
“Akechi,” he huffs and watches Ann push her luggage to the corner of the room “He still thinks it’s right to kill palace rulers.”   
  
Ann nods “It’s a little worrying. His ideals totally clash with the rest of us, even I didn’t ever think that killing Kamoshida was the right thing to do.”   
  
“Right?” Ryuji flops down on the bed and watches as Ann comes to sit on the side “Dude...maybe Akechi isn’t supposed to be with us. If he keeps thinking like that...there’s gonna be a lot of trouble.”   
  
“I agree,” Ann says “But it’s not our call. Akira wanted him there.”   
  
Ryuji scrunches up his nose as he remembers something Ishida had told him earlier. He sits up again and turns to face Ann “You don’t think it’s true right? About Akira and Akechi? I mean...I’m totally cool with it if it is - I don’t care if Akira’s gay or straight but...but do you think…?”   
  
An unreadable look appears on Ann’s face and she looks down “It’s possible. I mean...we’ve all seen what Akechi’s like when he’s around Akira. He’s very protective of him. He always looks at him. It’s different to last year. If something is happening...Akira’s not likely to tell us. You know what he’s like.”   
  
“Yeah I do,” Ryuji sighs tiredly “He’ll take it to his grave if he thinks we don’t need to know.”   
  
“We don’t really need to know,” Ann points out kindly “If something is going on between them, that’s their business. The only part that worries me is the fact that Akechi is...really different to us. The way he thinks, the way he views the palace rulers...we work really well as a team because our values are the same. Akechi’s aren’t.”   
  
Ryuji thinks over the possibility that his best friend is in a relationship with that detective weirdo and although he can see it quite clearly, he doesn’t want to see it. It’s weird. To think that someone got into Akira’s silent mind. To think that someone understands him well enough to read what goes on in there.   
  
Even Ryuji doesn’t understand Akira sometimes.   
  
“Anyway,” he shakes his head and looks at Ann “I just wanted to come here to tell you somethin. I’m heading home after.”   
  
Ann’s eyes widen a little and she looks at him curious “Tell me something?” she asks “What?”   
  
Ryuji lifts a finger, beckoning her over to his side of the bed. “Come here,” he says and there’s a determined gleam in his eyes. Ann stares at him for a moment, slowly she stands and she moves around the bed until she’s sitting next to him instead.   
  
Then, Ryuji doesn’t hesitate. He brings his hand up and takes her chin. Ann gets about a second of a warning before Ryuji’s lips are on hers, warm and soft.   
  
It takes her by surprise, how sudden and firm he is but she finds herself returning the kiss very easily. Her eyes flutter shut and she tilts her head, pushing her lips back against his. She likes that he gave her no warning, she likes that he didn’t hesitate or stumble.   
  
Ryuji is so warm. His fingers on her chin are warm, his lips are soft and he smells like the hotel shampoo and soap. She can taste toothpaste and wonders if he’d planned on doing this for awhile.   
  
When he pulls back, it’s almost too soon. Ann’s eyes flutter open, she watches as a grin flashes across Ryuji’s face. He lets her go and gets up to get his bag. Ann stares, slightly stunned as Ryuji throws his bag over his shoulder and nods to her “Goodnight,” he says and swiftly heads for the door, leaving as quickly as he’d come.   
  
Left alone in her room, Ann blinks a few times and reaches her hand up to touch her lips. A slow blush crawls over her face and she can’t help the way her lips pull into a helpless smile afterwards. Ryuji kissed her. The very thought makes her face go red and her insides curl up like a million butterflies are fluttering around in her stomach. She can’t stay still. She gets up and paces her room for a moment before diving for her phone and messaging Shiho immediately.   
  
\-   
  
When Futaba gets back home, Sojiro is mostly relieved that she was out with her friends and that she was out at all. She brushes him off gently with assurances that she’s back to normal and no she’s not going to hide up in her room again like last time. He makes her curry and she feels guilty for making him worry. She knows he’s doing his best.   
  
When she finally makes it back into her room, she slumps at her computer desk and groans. Palaces - even ones with fuck all shadows - are always draining. She pulls her phone up and when she notices the message from Takeshi, she frowns in confusion.   
  
Her computer beeps, alerting her to a message. Takeshi again? Futaba leans over curiously, watching as the username pops up on her screen with a green light to indicate he’s online.   
  
**Takeshi:** Sakura-san? Are you alright?   
  
**Futaba:** Depends on the definition of the word ‘alright’. If you mean am I living and breathing, then yes, I’m fine.   
  
**Takeshi:** lol, well that’s a good start.   
  
Futaba pulls back from the computer and hums. Takeshi is one link to Jax but the unfortunate reality is that Jax is Hiro. Hiro even said he was. Someone had been waiting for her to go into that IT room and Hiro had attacked as soon as she’d left the room. The only thing is that Hiro isn’t exactly what had popped into her mind when she’d thought of the hacker who had stopped her from getting to all the files she desperately needed to get to in order to figure out who killed Minagawa and the former principal.   
  
If it wasn’t Hiro...then Takeshi was her next best bet.   
  
**Futaba:** Why are you contacting me?   
  
**Takeshi:** I was worried. You’re not the first girl that guy has hurt.   
  
**Futaba:** T_T The fact that you know about this and still do nothing isn’t comforting.   
  
**Takeshi:** Hear me out. I have my reasons.   
  
**Futaba** : Oh? You stopped him from going further with me but you knew about the others. You know what kind of guy he is. Have you told anyone?   
  
**Takeshi** : Who would believe me? When his father practically pays the school to keep this quiet?   
  
**Futaba** :....point.   
  
**Takeshi** : Anyway, that’s not the only reason why I reached out. You haven’t come back to school.   
  
**Futaba** : I’ll come back on Monday.   
  
**Takeshi** : Come back to the IT club.   
  
**Futaba** : T_T Hell no. Not while he’s there.   
  
**Takeshi** : Don’t worry about that. I took care of him.   
  
**Futaba** : …   
  
**Takeshi** : …   
  
**Futaba** : ...did u kill him? O_o   
  
**Takeshi** : What?! Lol, no! I just sent him a fake email from someone in America. Guy has a huge ego, he fell for it and left to see her.   
  
**Futaba** : O_o see who?   
  
**Takeshi** : Kim Kardashian. Hacking into her email was really easy. All I had to say was that she found his ‘awesome’ profile online and she’s dying to see him in person. His father can afford to send him out of the country.   
  
**Futaba** : T_T   
  
**Takeshi** : ...what?   
  
**Futaba** : Whatever. He’s still coming back.   
  
**Takeshi** : We’ll deal with that when it happens. For now, he’s not here and you seemed to know what you were doing. I’m sick of listening to Junichi’s music and Taro’s complaints.   
  
**Futaba** : You’re bringing me in because you’re sick of your other clubmates?!   
  
**Takeshi** : Help me out here. I need someone with a brain.   
  
**Futaba** : …   
  
**Takeshi** : Please?   
  
**Futaba** : …   
  
**Takeshi** : I’ll bring cookies.   
  
**Futaba** : You can’t bribe me with cookies. Especially when I can get that myself.   
  
**Takeshi** : How about tea?   
  
**Futaba** : Bo~ring~   
  
**Takeshi** : Chips?   
  
**Futaba** : Come on. Be creative here. If you want me to go back to that place, do better.   
  
**Takeshi** : Ok. Tell me what you want and I’ll get it for you by Monday. Will you stay with the group then?   
  
**Futaba** : Hmm...alright…   
  
Futaba grins. She’s planning on staying with the group anyway. It helps that Hiro is gone but if he was never Jax to begin with, then that means that Jax is one of the three leftover. As friendly as Takeshi is, her money is on him. He is the only one she couldn’t get enough information on, he’s the only one who’s directly approached her after Hiro himself. He also doesn’t seem like an idiot.   
  
**Futaba** : Lobsters.   
  
**Takeshi** : Lobsters?!?! O_O   
  
**Futaba** : Live ones. Bring me two live lobsters and I’ll stay.   
  
**Takeshi** : What the hell do you want with lobsters?!   
  
**Futaba** : None of your business. Lobsters or I don’t come back.   
  
**Takeshi** : ….well….I agreed to that. Fine. You’ll get your lobsters.   
  
**Futaba** : ^_^   
  
**Takeshi** : Weirdo.   
  
**Futaba** : Sure you want me to come back? You could ask someone who doesn’t want lobsters.   
  
**Takeshi** : I’m not stupid. Not just anyone can join this club and I’d appreciate someone who knows not to look for the ‘press any key’ button on the keyboard.   
  
**Futaba** : O_o   
  
**Takeshi** : I’m not kidding, Taro is a moron. Junichi doesn’t know anything about IT. Come back here so I can have faith in humanity again.   
  
**Futaba** : Well in that case you definitely don’t want me. I lost my faith in humanity ages ago.   
  
**Takeshi** : Oh?   
  
**Futaba** : Yea. Humans suck.   
  
**Takeshi** : Agreed.   
  
**Futaba** : Anyway. Lobsters. ^^   
  
**Takeshi** : *sigh* fine.   
  
* * *   
  
Morgana and Akira leave Yusuke’s room sometime after 11 at night. They take the completed calling card with them and when they’re gone, Yusuke flops onto his bed with an exhausted groan. Today...was awful.   
  
His blue hair flops over his eyes, by now it’s dry and smelling of the hotel shampoo. Yusuke slowly rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling.   
  
His mind is a mess. His body is a mess. What happened in that room is a secret - he knows. One he can never mention again but he still can’t even believe it happened.   
  
He’d held Ryuji to the door. He was only trying to stop the other from panicking. Ryuji had practically lost it once he’d figured out his situation and he’d screamed and banged at the door, he was going to hurt himself. Yusuke’s fingers twitch and he looks at his fingers. They’d held Ryuji’s soft wrists, pinned him to the door and he remembers the look in Ryuji’s eyes too vividly.   
  
Fear. But something else had been there as well, something Yusuke recognised only because he had it too.   
  
“Yusuke,” Ryuji’s voice echoes in his mind. Scared but firm “Let me go.”   
  
Yusuke closes his eyes. His fingers gently touch his lips and he shivers. They hadn’t left that room unscarred. Far from it. But what happened in there, what really happened, Yusuke cannot tell a soul and the reality of that hurts more than he can bear.   
  
Because Ryuji kissed him back, Ryuji’s fingers had been in his hair, holding his back, pushing him back into the bed and he’d been helpless to stop any of it. He didn’t even want to stop any of it.   
  
But it’s a secret. A frenzied moment powered by a drug and nothing more.   
  
Nobody can know.   
  
Yusuke curls up in bed and closes his eyes. But sleep doesn’t come, his mind is filled with reminders. His body can still feel everything that happened and the only thing that’s stopping him from climbing out of this bed and facing Ryuji for an explanation is the knowledge that Ryuji can’t deal with it either.   
  
What happened, what they did...Yusuke will never speak of it again.   
  
\-   
  
In his room, Ryuji runs a hand through his hair and paces around restlessly.   
  
He can’t think. He can’t focus. He can’t do anything because his mind is screaming at him. He’d kissed Kitagawa Yusuke. More than that, they’d fallen onto the bed and made out until the aphrodisiac wore off. He can still feel Yusuke’s hands holding him close, slipping dangerously under his shirt. His lips had been soft and demanding, robbing Ryuji so perfectly of his sanity, he’d been sure he wouldn’t even be able to stop kissing him.   
  
Ryuji kicks over a pile of textbooks and sniffs as he sits on the end of the bed. He covers his face with his hands.   
  
He’d wanted to kiss Ann. He’d wanted to finish whatever had been slowly building between them and he knew Ann wanted that too. Maybe it was wrong to kiss her right after what he’d done with Yusuke. Maybe it was wrong to ask Yusuke to keep it a secret - to blame the aphrodisiac for the whole thing. To pretend he’d never had feelings for Yusuke to begin with.   
  
Rather than making Ryuji feel frustrated or angry or even hurt at the circumstances, all it makes him feel is sad. He feels awful. Like he’s the one who should have a fucking palace. He’s the one with distorted desires. Lusting after one friend and kissing another.   
  
He sniffs and keeps his tears in. As scared as he is of this situation, he doesn’t want his mother to think he’s crying or anything. He doesn’t want her to worry. But he doesn’t know what to do here. Obviously something is happening with Ann - something he wants. But is it okay to pretend what happened with Yusuke never happened?   
  
More to the point is the terrifying knowledge that now Ryuji knew what it was like to kiss both of them. If he’s being honest - truly, heartbreakingly honest - it was Yusuke who’d made him lose his breath. Ryuji thought of the artist and his stomach tightened to the point where he might be sick with want. He thinks of those lips and he wants to kiss them again, he wants to touch Yusuke again, to remember without the haze of drugs what it was like to kiss him.   
  
When he thinks of Ann, it’s warm. It’s natural. He’s known her the longest and he feels warm just thinking about her with him.   
  
But what is that? What’s the difference between the two emotions? Is it lust he feels for Yusuke and love he feels for Ann? Or is it simple familiarity he feels for Ann?   
  
Or - and this is the one that actually pisses him off - does he just feel safer with Ann because she’s a girl and he knows somewhere in his mind that he’s scared of being with Yusuke because then he’d have a shitton of explaining to do regarding his sexuality and he’s not ready for any of that shit?   
  
He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know anything about it. He lies down on his bed, covers his face with his pillow and shivers as the weight of the day rests on his exhausted body.   
  
He’s a horrible human being.   
  
Sleep doesn’t come for Ryuji that night either.   
  
\-   
  
“You’ve failed.”   
  
Akira opens his eyes. He recognises Lavenza’s book before he even registers the girl herself. The unstable and unreal surroundings of the velvet room come to life as he sits up and spots Igor at his desk as usual. Akechi isn’t there. The other couch is empty and Akira looks at Lavenza.   
  
She looks very disappointed and clutches her book to her chest.   
  
“You’ve failed,” she tells him again “That connection was a gift. One you have abused.”   
  
Akira raises an eyebrow at her. If anything, it was Akechi who abused the power of mindreading. But he doesn’t say this and instead watches Lavenza curiously. She obviously has a point she’s slowly getting to.   
  
“The Metaverse needs you both,” Lavenza continues “Light and Dark. One cannot live without the other, they compliment each other, they need each other….the Metaverse needs you. It’s always needed you but you are only one half. He is the other half.”   
  
Akira glances at the empty sofa. He turns his eyes back to Lavenza and tilts his head a little “So why am I here?”   
  
“Your group is in danger,” Lavenza informs him “Something is working to tear the Phantom Thieves apart. Your hard work last year in putting all of this together, putting all your friends together, is about to be destroyed. There is nothing you can do to stop it.”   
  
Akira already knows something is hard at work. The frustrating part is he doesn’t know what.   
  
“So why am I here?” he asks again “If you’re just going to warn me, thank you but that doesn’t help anything. Akechi is keeping something from me, something went wrong with that palace and we still don’t know who Loki is.”   
  
“Yes, you’re not doing very well,” Igor points out with a dismissive sniff “It must be frustrating.”   
  
Akira tries not to glare at Igor and instead levels his eyes on Lavenza instead “Tell me something useful,” he pleads “Give me something to work with here. I still don’t know why Morgana is human. Tell me what you know. Tell me what’s going on.”   
  
Lavenza bites her lip. She exchanges glances with Igor and Akira can tell they both know more than they’re letting on. Some reason is stoppping them from telling him everything and that’s not comforting either.   
  
“Do you know where Akechi Goro is right now?” Lavenza asks.   
  
Akira frowns “He should be at home,” he says “The Metaverse will have tired us all out, he should be in bed soon - maybe he’ll turn up here.”   
  
“No,” Lavenza shakes her head, her eyes wide and unreadable “Do you know where Akechi Goro is right now?”   
  
Akechi is keeping something from him. Akira frowns slightly and watches Lavenza. He wishes she could tell him everything and not be so damn secretive and unhelpful. But he also knows that if something is holding her back, there’s a reason for it and probably not an unreasonable one.   
  
“Where is he?”   
  
Lavenza nods “You need to keep a close eye on him,” she advises Akira “You need him as much as he needs you.”   
  
* * *   
  
The night is well and truly dark now. Young men on their breaks stand outside convenience stores, huddled in little smoking sections as they pass around the lighter and bitch about their nightjobs.   
  
Akechi walks through them. He’s tired and it shows but even so, he’s dressed in a leather jacket, the hood pulled over his brown locks as he makes his way through the red light district. Back to the club where he spots a familiar face waiting for him.   
  
Nishizawa Ran pushes himself off the wall when he sees Akechi approaching. He turns to look at him and smiles “Took your time.”   
  
“I had a thing,” Akechi shrugs “What you told me last night…”   
  
“Yes?” Ran tilts his pretty head and smiles at Akechi “You looked into it, didn’t you?”   
  
Akechi doesn’t answer. He did look into it and he didn’t like what he found but that is exactly why he’s here again tonight.   
  
“Continue your story,” he tells Ran “Tell me everything.”   
  
Ran nods. He looks around and tilts his head towards a nearby cafe “I’m starving,” he tells Akechi “Let me eat something first and I’ll tell you everything you wanna know.”   
  
Akechi can read the statement between the lines just fine. He sighs “I’m paying?”   
  
“Of course,” Ran grins “What kind of brother would you be if you didn’t?”   
  
Akechi stares at Ran and wonders how he didn’t see it earlier. How he didn’t know about this earlier. Part of his job had been to cover everything up, to make sure none of Shido’s secrets got out and that included the many, many, many sexual assault charges that had been squashed down and paid off.   
  
How had he not noticed one of those charges had resulted in a kid being born? More importantly, one who was born around the same time Shido left his mother.   
  
Nishizawa Ran. Son of Shido and another woman Shido had abused and hurt. Akechi believed facts before anything else but he had the facts and papers to back it up. There was no denying this from a logical or emotional standpoint. Even Ran’s mannerisms are similar.   
  
_Akira?_ Akechi checks in his mind. No response. He follows Ran to the cafe and prays he’ll get his answers so he has something to tell Akira.   
  
Because none of this makes sense and Akechi’s starting to suspect their enemy is not Loki at all but something bigger than him. Something bigger than anything they’ve faced before. The monster that opened the metaverse again and pulled them all in.   
  
He smells a plan in motion and if there’s one thing Akechi Goro cannot stand, it is falling into someone’s trap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck because it takes me forever to write. So much has happened between the last update and this one, I'm almost dizzy just thinking about it but uh...I'll put it in a list of the crap that happened between May and now.  
> \- Japan Summer (sucks)  
> \- Persona 3 and 5 Dancing games  
> \- Horrible boss  
> \- Buraucratic bullshit  
> \- Concerts  
> \- Evil idols ;)
> 
> Anyway, I'm back to writing and I hope the next update comes soon. Things are REALLY complicated now but it's going to calm down eventually I promise.


End file.
